•2.  3.  IS 


LIBRARY    OF    THE    THEOLOGICAL    SEMINARY 

PRINCETON,    N.    J. 
PRESENTED    BY 

BX  9225  .B39"B3 
Barrows,  Mary  Eleanor. 
John  Henry  Barrows 


From  a  Photograph  taken  in  Cleveland  in  1900. 


JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 


A  MEMOIR 


By  His  Daughter 

MARY  ELEANOR  BARROWS 


CHICAGO        NEW   YORK        TORONTO 

FLEMING  H.  REVELL  COMPANY 

LONDON    AND    EDINBURGH 
MCMIV 


Copyright,  1904 

By  FLEMING  H.   REVELL  COMPANY 

November 


CHICAGO:  63  WASHINGTON  STREET 
NEW  YORK:  158  FIFTH  AVENUE 
TORONTO:  27  RICHMOND  STREET,  W. 
I-ONDON:  21  PATERNOSTER  SQUARE 
EDINBURGH:       30    ST.     MARY    STREET 


TO    MY    MOTHER 

Whose  unfailing  wisdom  and  sympathy  kept  my 
father's  radiance  bright  and  whose  inspiration  and 
counsel  make  possible  this  record  of  his  life,  these 
pages    are    lovingly    and    admiringly    dedicated. 


PREFACE 

This  book  makes  no  attempt  at  judicial  criticism.  It 
is  not  addressed  to  those,  curious  only  concerning  the  lives 
of  a  few  men  of  undisputed  pre-eminence.  My  father's 
death  is  so  recent  and  the  spell  cast  by  his  personality 
upon  those  that  knew  him,  so  irresistible,  as  to  preclude 
dispassionate  judgment.  Moreover,  great  and  varied  as 
were  his  talents  and  achievements,  his  genius  was  but  a 
genius  for  friendship.  I  write,  therefore,  to  those  inter- 
ested in  any  intensely  human  document  and  primarily  in 
answer  to  the  thousands  of  letters  sent  by  my  father's 
friends  of  all  ranks  and  creeds  and  climes,  whose  lives  are 
richer  for  his  life,  and  whose  hearts  still  ache  because  of 
his  withdrawal  from  their  midst. 

M.  E.  B. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


CHAPTER 

I. 

II. 

III. 

IV. 

V. 

VI. 

VII. 

VIII. 

IX. 

X. 

XI. 

XII. 

XIII. 

XTV. 

XV. 
XVI. 


II 

iS 


3-^ 
54 
7i 

100 

128 

149 

165 
180 
204 


Parentage   and   Early  Years        .... 

Olivet  Days,  1860-1867 

Preparation  for  the  Ministry.  New  Haven  and 
New  York,  1867-1869 

Life  in  Kansas,  1869-1872 

From   Springfield  to  Paris,   1872-1873     . 

Six  Months  of  Travel,  1873-1874 

Massachusetts   Years,    1874-1881 

The  First  Presbyterian  Church  and  its  Min- 
ister,   1881-1886        

His   Chicago  ]\Iinistry,    1886-1891 

Leisure  Hours  

His  Preaching  and  its  Revelation  of  Himself  . 

His  Preaching  and  its  Revelation  of  Himself 
(continued) 223 

Citizen   and   Patriot 2^7 

Preparations  for  the  Parliament  of  Religions, 
1891-1893 253 

Success  and   Sorrow,    1893- 1894  .         .        .273 

The  Haskell  and  Barrows  Lectureships  of  the 
University  of  Chicago,  1894-1895       .         .         .  300 

The  End  of  His  Chicago  Ministry,  1895-1896      323 

The  First  Stage  in  a  World  Pilgrimage,  1896 

India  and  Japan,  1896-1897 

From  Chicago  to  Oberlin,  1897-1899 

His  College  Presidency,  1899-1902 


343 
364 
390 
406 


«# 


/ 


(TS 


Wt^&  /l.l'i 


f1 


it       *^  ' 


CHAPTER  I 

PARENTAGE  AND  EARLY  YEARS 

"There  is  one  man  who  has  appeared  under  various 
names  in  all  ages,  from  the  time  of  Moses  to  our  own 
century,  who  has  been  the  wisest  man,  morally  speaking, 
that  history  commemorates.  He  is  sometimes  called  'the 
prophet,'  he  is  sometimes  a  statesman,  he  is  sometimes  a 
reformer,  he  is  often  a  martjT.  A  later  age  has  called 
him  'a  Puritan.'  The  Puritan  spirit  not  in  its  errors,  not 
in  its  extravagances,  but  in  its  lofty  moral  wisdom,  towers 
above  the  tide  of  time,  a  glorious  lighthouse  kept  blazing 
by  the  splendor  of  divine  holiness." 

When  he  wrote  this,  my  father  may  have  been  thinking 
of  his  mother,  whose  story  he  has  told  in  these  words: 
"She  was  born  in  Saratoga  County,  New  York,  and 
taught  a  district  school  before  she  had  reached  the  age  of 
fifteen.  She  was  converted  in  Troy  by  the  personal  min- 
istry of  Reverend  Fayette  Shipherd,  a  brother  of  the 
founder  of  Oberlin.  Being  hungry^  for  a  college  educa- 
tion, she  went  to  her  father  and  said,  'Give  me  the  portion 
of  goods  that  falleth  to  me  that  I  may  go  West,  where 
Professor  Charles  G.  Finney  is,'  and  she  went.  It  was  a 
journey  of  four  hundred  miles  or  more  that  she  made  in 
a  stage  coach  to  reach  the  forests  of  the  Western  Reserve, 
there  to  undergo  the  trials,  the  sickness,  and  the  hardship 
and  to  gain  the  inspiration  of  student  life  in  those  stirring 
early  days  of  Oberlin.  It  was  a  time  when  bean  soup 
was  deemed  dainty  fare,  when  a  slab  boarding  house  was 


12 JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

a  palace  of  ease,  and  when  ornaments  of  all  kinds  on  the 
person  of  a  young  lady  were  indications  of  a  carnal  heart. 
My  mother  acquired  some  linguistic  learning  which 
nearly  all  vanished  in  later  pioneer  hardships.  She  read 
the  New  Testament  through  in  Greek.  Besides  studying 
Latin  and  attaining  a  good  knowledge  of  French,  she 
read  thirty  chapters  of  the  book  of  Genesis  in  Hebrew, 
and  I  think  used  to  hush  her  children  to  sleep  by  repeat- 
ing the  deep-toned,  full-voweled  opening  words  of  the 
old  Bible,  But  better  than  the  language  taught  was  the 
earnest  spirit  breathed  from  the  brave  lives  of  those 
pioneer  teachers  who  helped  to  make  Oberlin  perhaps  the 
greatest  single  factor  in  the  evangelization  of  the  West. 
Their  theology  did  not  square  altogether  with  the  West- 
minster Confession,  but  it  made  revivalists,  reformers,  and 
public  spirited  citizens.  The  ambition  of  the  early  Oberlin 
students,  exemplified  by  my  mother  as  completely  as  by 
any  other  person  I  ever  knew,  was  to  be  nobly  useful,  to 
sell  their  lives  for  the  greatest  possible  good." 

At  Oberlin,  this  energetic  joung  woman  met  her  future 
husband,  John  Manning  Barrows.  His  home  was  in 
Troy,  New  York,  where  his  father,  John  Barrows,  had 
settled  when  the  place  was  a  swamp-encircled  village  of 
two  or  three  hundred  inhabitants.  A  surveyor  and  engi- 
neer, John  Barrows  had  staked  out  the  original  bound- 
aries betvveen  Troy  and  Lansingburg,  made  the  earliest 
map  of  Troy  now  extant,  written  much  for  the  local 
papers,  and,  after  his  marriage  with  a  young  widow, 
Bertha  Anthony  Butler,  had  conducted  a  flourishing 
school.  Of  their  five  children,  John  Manning,  born  in 
1808,  was  the  only  son.  The  boy's  mother  had  had 
seven  brothers,  seamen  of  New  Bedford,  and  privateers 
of  the  Revolution,  several  of  whom  were  killed  while 


PARENTAGE  AND  EARLY  YEARS  13 

fighting  with  British  ships.  Her  father  was  a  merchant 
and  shipowner,  and  when  the  British  fired  New  Bedford, 
she  had  fled  with  her  parents  in  an  ox  cart  to  Dighton, 
only  pausing  once  on  the  brow  of  a  hill  for  a  backward 
glance  at  the  flames  from  their  house  and  store,  redden- 
ing the  sky.  He  was  also  descended  from  a  certain  John 
Barrowe,  who  sailed  from  Yarmouth  to  Plymouth  in 
1637.  His  grandfather,  John  Barrows,  had  left  his  home 
in  Attleboro,  Massachusetts,  to  study  at  Harvard  for  the 
ministry;  soon  after  graduation  was  led  by  doubts  as 
to  the  "validity  of  his  call,"  to  abandon  preaching  and 
to  build  a  school-house  in  Cambridgeport  where  he  pre- 
pared boys  for  college;  and  when  the  British  burned 
the  town,  began  anew  with  his  wife,  Sarah  Manning,  and 
taught  school  in  Dighton  for  fifty  years. 

John  Manning  Barrows,  as  he  grew  toward  man- 
hood, tall  and  shy,  fond  of  poetry  and  of  swimming  in 
the  Hudson,  came  under  the  influence  of  Amos  Eaton, 
"founder  of  American  botany."  Professor  Eaton,  hav- 
ing completed  a  geological  survey  of  the  Erie  canal,  had 
urged  his  patron,  Stephen  Van  Rensselaer  of  Albany,  to 
found  a  school  where  natural  sciences  should  be  taught. 
And  so,  in  1824,  a  score  of  years  before  the  birth  of  the 
scientific  departments  of  Harvard  or  of  Yale,  the  Rens- 
selaer Polytechnic  Institute  opened  at  Troy  with  Pro- 
fessor Eaton  as  chief  instructor.  Here,  where  the  studies 
were  "chemistry,  experimental  philosophy,  and  natural 
history,  with  their  applications  to  agriculture,  domestic 
economy  and  the  arts,"  John  Manning  Barrows  was 
educated.  As  adjunct-professor  of  botany  the  last  year 
of  his  course,  he  conducted  the  Seniors  on  a  tour  through 
western  Massachusetts,  but  upon  graduation,  in  1829,  he 
left  Troy  forever. 


14  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

Up  to  this  time,  in  spite  of  his  regular  attendance  at 
the  Episcopal  church,  his  ancestral  faith  lay  dormant.  In 
Georgia,  where  he  went  as  a  teacher  of  the  natural 
sciences,  his  first  view  of  slavery  made  him  a  changed 
man.  On  his  return  to  the  North,  he  continued  teach- 
ing, first  at  Onondaga  Academy  in  New  York,  then  at 
the  Temple  Hill  School,  Geneseo,  and  lastly  at  Chilli- 
cothe,  Ohio.  Often  he  was  fortunate  in  his  pupils.  In 
Troy  he  had  given  her  first  botany  lessons  to  Emma  Wil- 
lard,  principal  of  what  was  then  probably  the  best  "Ladies' 
Seminary"  in  the  land ;  and  in  Geneseo,  Marcius  Wilson, 
later  the  well  known  author  of  school  histories,  and  Eben 
Horsford,  to  be  for  sixteen  years  professor  at  Harvard, 
were  in  his  classes.  Though  successful,  these  years  did 
not  let  him  forget  the  man-hunt  he  had  seen  in  Georgia. 
Too  honest  to  attempt  an  impossible  reconciliation  be- 
tween slavery  and  Christianity,  too  Puritan  to  shake  off 
the  burden  of  its  unrighteousness,  though  he  was  retiring 
by  nature,  and  had  little  talent  for  action,  his  fear  of 
God  finally  cast  out  all  other  fears,  and,  unable  to  escape 
his  conscience,  he  determined  to  study  for  the  ministry. 
In  1836  he  went  to  Oberlin,  at  that  time  burning  with 
the  Abolition  fever,  caught  from  Lyman  Beecher. 

In  Oberlin,  from  whose  theological  department  he  was 
graduated  in  1838,  he  was  vitally  touched  by  the  tre- 
mendous spiritual  power  of  Charles  G.  Finney,  "the 
greatest  of  American  evangelists."  Here,  too,  he  became 
deeply  attached  to  Catherine  Moore,  who  sympathised  so 
fully  with  his  faith  and  zeal  that,  in  spite  of  delicate 
health,  she  consented  to  join  him  in  his  life  as  reformer 
and  home  missionary.  From  this  determination  he  was 
turned  neither  by  Professor  Eaton's  counsel  to  abandon 
the  cause  of  slavery  and  accept  a  lucrative  professorship 


PARENTAGE  AND  EARLY  YEARS  15 

of  science,  nor  by  the  refusal  of  the  American  Home 
Missionary  Society  to  aid  him  unless  he  broke  off  his  con- 
nection with  the  Congregational  Association  bearing  the 
over-radical  Oberlin  mark,  which  he  refused  to  do. 

During  the  next  ten  years  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Barrows 
lived  in  St.  Anns,  New  York;  Perrysburg,  Rome,  and 
Franklin,  Ohio;  Medina  and  Woodstock,  Michigan. 
More  than  once  they  were  "egged"  from  town  because 
of  their  anti-slavery  sentiments.  Although  a  man  of 
great  gentleness  and  geniality,  such  was  Mr.  Barrows's 
earnestness  in  denouncing  slavery  that  Professor  Esta- 
brook,  a  leading  Michigan  educator,  wrote  of  one  of  his 
sermons:  "Never  can  I  forget  the  burning  words  that 
fell  from  his  mouth  on  that  occasion.  He  saw  with 
prophetic  doom  the  fate  that  awaited  his  country  if  she 
failed  to  let  the  oppressed  go  free.  The  inspiration  that 
I  received  from  that  sermon  has  never  left  me.  It  en- 
tered my  life  and  is  fresh  in  my  memory  today." 

In  Medina,  preaching,  an  exceedingly  precarious  sup- 
port for  a  growing  family,  was  exchanged  for  teaching, 
and  at  Woodstock,  where  they  joined  a  colored  man 
named  Foster  in  running  a  school,  their  burdens  were 
especially  heavy.  To  Mrs.  Barrows's  share,  besides  the 
housekeeping  and  the  care  of  her  little  children,  fell  the 
teaching  of  all  the  mathematics.  However,  clear  think- 
ing, warm  loving,  and  a  large  courage  so  tempered  the 
hardness  of  their  lot,  that  to  their  eyes  it  seemed  always 
good.  In  fact,  this  husband  and  wife  supplemented  each 
other  well.  To  his  naturally  over-sanguine  nature,  and 
mystic  dreaminess,  she  added  tireless  energy,  extreme  con- 
scientiousness, and  rare  administrative  faculty,  which  en- 
abled her  to  make  their  small  income  avail  for  the  com- 
fortable support  of  the  children,  to  whom  she  gave  her- 


i6 JOHN  HENRY   BARROWS 

self  with  unsparing  devotion.  For  both  of  them  the 
poetry  and  pageantry  of  the  Hebrew  Scriptures  were  so 
alive  that  Abraham  counting  the  stars,  Jacob  wrestling 
with  the  angel,  Moses  trembling  before  the  burning  bush, 
symbolised  their  individual  experiences.  In  the  same 
majestic  way  they  thought  also  of  their  country.  Amer- 
ica's story  was  to  them  that  of  a  chosen  people. 

On  July  II,  1847,  their  son,  John  Henry  Barrows, 
was  born  "n  a  log  cabin  about  five  miles  from  Medina, 
Lenawee  County,  Michigan.  My  father  was  the  fourth 
of  five  children,  all  but  one  of  whom  were  boys.  His 
recollections  of  the  first  thirteen  years  of  his  life  clus- 
tered about  schools  in  Michigan  and  Ohio.  In  1849, 
the  family,  returning  to  Medina  after  a  year  in  Wood- 
stock, moved  a  few  miles  away  into  another  house,  still 
of  logs,  but  with  a  frame  addition,  for  the  Medina  people 
had  formed  a  school  company,  bought  a  farm,  built  school 
house  and  boarding  house,  and  placed  Mi-,  and  Mrs. 
Barrows  in  charge.  Mr.  Barrows  taught  during  the  fore- 
noon and  worked  on  the  eighty  acre  farm  raising  corn  and 
wheat  in  the  afternoon,  while  his  wife  spent  the  morn- 
ings in  housework,  no  easy  task,  since  it  usually  meant 
cooking  for  fourteen  boarders  in  addition  to  the  family, 
and  after  dinner  taught  all  the  mathematics  of  the  school. 
Students  came  from  thirty  miles  around,  and  the  Me- 
dina Union  Seminary  prospered  signally,  its  numbers 
reaching  and  remaining  about  one  hundred  until  1856, 
when  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Barrows  moved  to  West  Unity, 
Ohio,  to  conduct  the  town  school  there. 

Life  in  this  family  was  necessarily  simple.  Although 
matches  and  Stewart  stoves  distinguished  these  from 
pioneer  days,  my  father  used  to  watch  the  candles  grow 
under  the  second  and  third   dippings.     Nor  was  this  a 


PARENTAGE  AND  EARLY  YEARS  i; 

strictly  ordered  household.  With  no  corporal  punish- 
ment or  strict  observance  of  Sunday,  with  its  much  jok- 
ing and  individual  freedom,  its  life  differed  from  that 
of  many  New  England  homes.  Its  temper  may  be  ascribed 
to  his  parents'  natural  liberality  and  love  of  beauty,  to 
which  Shakespeare,  Young,  Hood,  Kirke  White,  Thomp- 
son, Campbell,  and  Byron,  jostling  the  Bible  commen- 
taries, school  books,  and  biographies  on  the  shelves  of  the 
little  Medina  house,   bore  witness. 

When  very  young,  he  learned  to  read  at  home,  and, 
except  for  a  few  terms  at  a  district  school,  his  instruc- 
tion came  either  from  his  father,  who  taught  him  the 
botanical  names  of  all  the  flowers  in  the  region  and  drilled 
him  well  in  grammar,  or  from  his  mother,  who  for  years 
practiced  her  mathematics  lessons  on  him  before  she 
taught  them  to  her  classes.  Thus  it  happened  that  at 
nine,  he  passed  an  examiination  in  Stoddard's  intellectual 
arithmetic  before  a  crowded  house,  sitting  among  stu- 
dents from  eighteen  to  twenty-five  years  old.  At  ten,  he 
mastered  a  higher  algebra,  and  won  a  prize  for  penman- 
ship, a  joke  in  later  years  when  many  of  his  illegible  ser- 
mons tried  his  patience.  In  West  Unity,  while  his  father 
read  aloud  the  Waverley  novels,  his  love  of  books  kindled 
into  flame.  At  this  time,  too,  he  heard  "Uncle  Tom's 
Cabin"  from  pages  of  old  numbers  of  the  "National  Era," 
and  through  articles  in  the  Independent  and  New  York 
Ledger,  to  which  the  family  subscribed,  first  became 
acquainted  with  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  who  was  later 
to  be  a  great  power  in  his  life. 


CHAPTER  II 

OLIVET  DAYS    1860-1867 

In  the  spring  of  i860,  Professor  Barrows  went  to 
Olivet,  Michigan,  as  teacher  of  natural  science,  while  his 
wife  was  made  matron  of  "Ladies'  Hall."  Olivet  Col- 
lege, which  had  been  founded  by  Oberlin  men,  was  then 
only  a  year  old.  It  had  one  hundred  and  seventy  stu- 
dents, most  of  them  in  the  preparatory  department,  and 
but  three  professors,  besides  its  president,  N.  J.  Morri- 
son. Professor  John  H.  Hewitt  of  Williams  College 
writes  of  this  time :  "It  was  my  good  fortune  to  be  a 
member  of  the  Barrows  family  for  four  years.  It  was  a 
family  of  high  literary  ideals.  It  was  for  a  long  time 
the  custom  for  some  one  to  read  aloud  during  the  meal 
time,  and  thus,  as  a  family,  they  came  to  have  a  wide 
acquaintance  with  the  best  in  English  Literature.  The 
historian  who  will  give  a  full  account  of  the  influences 
that  helped  Olivet  most  in  those  days  of  straits  will  give 
a  large  place  to  the  influence  of  Professor  and  Mrs.  Bar- 
rows, who  gave  the  ripest  years  of  their  lives  to  the 
institution  and  whose  children  took  their  degrees  there 
and  gave  distinction  to  its  name." 

My  father  lived  from  his  thirteenth  to  his  twentieth 
birthday  in  Olivet.  Between  i860 1863,  his  previous 
interest  in  mathematics,  due  to  the  ease  with  which  he 
answered  its  riddles,  was  displaced  by  enthusiasm  for  the 
classics.  President  Morrison,  now  of  Fairmount  Col- 
lege, says:  "I  first  knew  'John  Henry,'  as  his  noble 
mother  always  called  him,  as  a  beginner  in  the  elements 


OLIVET  DAYS  19 


of  Latin  and  Greek  with  his  brother  Walter, — par  nobile 
fratrum, — in  a  little  basement  recitation  room  under  the 
Ladies'  Hall  at  Olivet  College.  This  was  in  the  spring 
of  i860,  I  think.  He  was  then  a  slender  little  boy,  at- 
tractive in  face  and  manner  as  ever  afterwards,  open- 
eyed,  eager  to  learn,  quick  to  comprehend,  never  needing 
urging  or  reproof,  never  unprepared  in  his  lessons,  and,  of 
course,  winning  his  teacher's  heart  from  the  start.  For  a 
time  he  recited  to  me  in  both  of  the  classical  tongues,  but 
later  I  confined  my  teaching  to  the  Greek.  He  read 
Greek  with  me  from  the  alphabet  up  through  all  the 
preparatory  and  college  stages  of  study  to  the  Junior 
year, — the  last  six  months  of  his  college  study  in  that 
noblest  of  languages.  He  was  the  best  all-round  Greek 
scholar  I  ever  had,  fluent  and  accurate  in  translation, 
enthusiastic  in  mastering  the  intricacies  of  Greek  acci- 
dence, and  quick  to  appreciate  the  immortal  literature 
enshrined  in  the  structure  of  that  language.  His  intel- 
lectual quickness  in  turning  English  sentences  into  Greek 
was  my  especial  delight.  It  was  my  custom  in  teaching 
to  question  the  class  on  matters  of  grammatical  construc- 
tion, interpretation,  or  historical  and  mythological  ref- 
erence, outside,  or  in  advance  of  the  assigned  lesson,  in 
order  to  stimulate  the  student's  initiative  in  investigation 
and  a  habit  of  shrewd  inference  and  guessing  as  he  read. 
Such  questions  were  often  put  to  the  class  as  a  whole,  but 
invariably  answered  alone,  or  first  by  this  boy,  the  other 
members  of  the  class  looking  up  with  surprised  faces,  as 
much  as  to  say,  'Where  in  the  world  did  John  find 
answers  to  such  questions  ?'  " 

The  boy's  journal  contains  two  entries  in  which  those 
who  knew  his  goodness  will  see  the  touch  of  unconscious 
humour, — "Spring  term  of  1861.     Walter  was  converted 


20  JOHN  HENRY   BARROWS 

and  joined  the  church.  From  this  time  I  was  growing 
harder  and  harder  in  sin."  "Fall  term  of  1862.  There 
was  a  revival  of  religion  here  and  I  trust  that  I  sub- 
mitted my  selfish  will  to  Christ's."  Years  later  he  wrote : 
"I  shall  never  forget  the  time  when  the  truth  of  my 
Saviour's  Deity  flashed  into  my  gladdened  soul  and  I 
came  to  know  that  God  is  no  longer  'awful,  remote,  and 
inaccessible.'  I  had  been  like  a  man  fighting  in  a  thick 
mist,  striking  wildly  at  foes  whose  faces  I  did  not  see, 
whose  spirit  I  could  not  understand,  and  suddenly  I 
saw  the  mist  lifted,  and  a  new  light  from  heaven  thrown 
over  the  field,  and  with  this  disclosure,  my  mistaken  zeal, 
my  blameworthy  ignorance  were  made  plain,  and  I  turned 
my  penitent  and  renewed  energies  into  a  nobler  battle 
for  a  nobler  ideal." 

One  smiles,  too,  at  the  characteristic  interest  in  public 
affairs,  classical  and  literary  references,  and  glowing 
rhetoric,  found  in  a  letter  written  before  his  fifteenth 
birthday  when  on  a  visit  to  a  Mr.  E.  P.  Cowles,  a  Chip- 
pewa Indian  and  former  Oberlin  student,  to  whose  farm 
near  Dowagiac  the  boy  had  been  sent  for  a  needed  change. 
The  letter  refers  to  the  freeing  by  Congress  of  the  slaves 
in  the  territories,  without  compensation  to  their  owners, 
in  June,  1862. 
"Dear  Father: 

"In  the  past  month  we  have  passed  through  greater 
events  than  perhaps  the  world  has  seen  for  centuries.  The 
prayer  of  millions  of  years  has  been  answered ;  the  thun- 
derings  of  Garrison,  Smith,  and  Phillips  have  produced 
an  effect.  Slavery  is  virtually  at  an  end.  Our  Congress 
has  shown  in  its  proceedings  an  tntrgy  and  masterly 
judgment  which  will  place  it  in  as  high  a  position  among 
legislative  bodies  as  the  Amphictyonic  Council  of  Greece, 


OLIVET  DAYS 


the  Senate  of  Rome,  or  the  Long  Parliament  of  Britain. 
But  in  the  field  affairs  are  difFerent.  We  may  say  Mc- 
Clellan  drove  back  the  rebels  at  Richmond,  but  his  utter 
incompetency  as  a  general  has  been  clearly  shown  by  our 
Senator  in  Congress.  But  in  spite  of  McClellans  and 
Hallecks,  parties  and  factions,  the  truth  will  be  at  last 
victorious.  Some  one  will  say  that  the  iron  car  of  in- 
flexible Destiny  with  Revolution  yoked  like  a  whirlwind 
to.  his  wheels,  is  sweeping  to  the  destruction  of  slavery. 
Justice  must  triumph!  The  soul  of  Osawatomie's  im- 
mortal hero  is  on  the  breeze.  The  startled  Hamlet 
shrieked  to  the  ghost  of  his  father  'Why  have  thy  canon- 
ised bones,  hearsed  in  death,  burst  their  cerements?'  But 
the  body  of  John  Brown  is  still  in  the  tomb.  Yet  his 
heroic  soul  has  burst  from  his  narrow  resting  place  among 
the  mountains  and  has  imbued  itself  into  the  soul  of  a 
nation,  impelling  them  to  the  destruction  of  Tyranny  with 
all  its  hydra-headed  horridness." 

He  wrote  to  his  sister:  "  'Round  Lake,'  which  is  very 
near  to  'Crooked,'  is  a  very  beautiful  body  of  water  and 
I  viewed  it  at  a  most  auspicious  time.  It  is  almost  round 
and  about  a  mile  in  length  and  breadth.  The  declining 
sun  turned  the  surface  into  a  sea  of  gold.  A  strong  wind 
from  the  south  made  the  waters  heave  in  billows,  and 
the  beech,  oak,  and  hemlock  trees  which  stretched  their 
long  branches  far  out  into  the  lake  formed  a  dark  back- 
ground to  this  sea  of  heaving  light." 

In  1863,  with  five  others,  he  entered  the  freshman 
class.  That  he  and  his  brother  Walter  were  the  only  tw^o 
of  the  original  six  graduated  in  1867  shows  how  the  stu- 
dent body  shifted.  Still,  in  spite  of  such  drawbacks, 
Olivet  was  much  alive.  Its  faculty  gained  such  men  as 
Professor  Joseph  S,  Daniels,  Professor  J.  H.  Hewitt,  and 


22  JOHN  HENRY   BARROWS 

Professor  Frank  P,  Woodburj'.  Its  curriculum  contained 
not  only  Demosthenes  and  Tacitus,  calculus  and  meta- 
physics, but  natural  sciences,  French,  German,  and  Eng- 
lish Literature,  while  Olivet  audiences  listened  eagerly  to 
lectures  on  travel  and  art.  Of  course  the  opportunities 
which  the  college  could  offer  were  crude  compared  with 
those  of  older,  well-endowed  institutions,  and  such  was 
the  boy's  natural  bent  toward  the  humanities,  and  so  keen 
his  later  interest  in  the  increasing  of  college  electives 
and  equipment,  that  we  should  expect  to  find  him  lament- 
ing the  limitations  of  his  own  college  environment.  That 
he  does  not,  is  due,  perhaps,  partly  to  his  feeling  of  grati- 
tude for  what  it  gave  him. 

These  four  college  years  constituted  for  him  a  period 
of  receptivity  and  intense  feeling.  He  once  wrote,  years 
later:  "It  is  sometimes  a  consolation  in  the  midst  of 
one's  half-fulfilled  promises  and  imperfect  achievements 
to  recall  not  only  his  early  dreams,  but  those  prophetic  and 
powerful  impressions  made  by  other  souls,  and  those  early 
aspirations  to  embody  in  life  what  one  found  to  admire 
and  to  exult  in  as  he  contemplated  various  forms  of  hu- 
man excellence.  How  vividly  I  remember  the  impression 
that  came  from  my  father's  love  of  nature,  from  my 
mother's  spirit  of  self-sacrifice,  and  from  the  marvelous 
mental  accuracy  which  I  discovered  in  her.  How  vividly 
I  remember  the  shock  of  mental  excitement  with  v.'hich  I 
came  into  contact  with  accomplished  speakers  and  how 
rebuked  and  yet  inspired  I  was  in  college  days,  when, 
with  tears  rolling  down  his  face,  the  good  president 
pictured  the  heroism  of  Paul  and  the  self-effacing  martyr- 
dom of  spirit  with  which  great  men  had  done  their  great- 
est work.  How  I  learned  by  heart  the  speeches  of  Wen- 
dell Phillips,   and  marvelled  over  their  brilliancy,   their 


OLIVET  DAYS  23 


directness,  their  pungency  and  their  strange  blending  of 
sweetness  and  severity,  till  the  orator  seemed  to  me  like 
a  golden  vase  'that  burned  with  concentrated  and  per- 
fumed fire.'  " 

We  are  told  that — "In  those  days  one  of  the  important 
events  of  the  Olivet  commencement  season  was  the  public 
oral  examination  of  the  classes.  A  board  of  visitors,  rep- 
resenting the  Presbyterian  and  Congregational  churches 
of  Michigan,  was  always  present  to  attend  and  report 
upon  the  character  of  the  examinations.  One  of  the  strik- 
ing features  of  these  examinations  was  the  recitations  of 
John  and  Walter  Barrows.  On  one  occasion  when  the 
subject  of  the  examination  was  Guizot's  History  of  Civil- 
ization, John  had  drawn  as  his  topic  the  lecture  on  the 
Reformation.  After  he  had  recited  two  or  three  pages, 
almost  word  for  word,  and  the  instructor  had  pronounced 
it  sufficient,  the  visitors,  impressed  by  the  brilliancy  of  the 
exhibition,  requested  that  the  student  be  allowed  to  pro- 
ceed, which  he  did  to  the  close  of  a  lecture  of  several 
pages." 

Though  Olivet  then  lacked  the  organized  athletics, 
college  periodicals,  and  fraternity  rivalries  of  the  more 
modern  educational  m.achine,  he  managed  to  develop  both 
his  muscles  and  his  social  faculties.  One  winter  he  drilled 
three  nights  a  week  in  a  military  company  and  rose  to 
the  lofty  rank  of  second  corporal :  for  a  part  of  his  course 
he  took  fencing  lessons;  long  tramps  with  his  father  and 
brothers  for  rare  plants  were  not  infrequent ;  farm  work 
often  filled  his  summers,  and  in  his  Junior  year  he  writes 
with  ardor  of  joining  a  "base  ball  club"  just  formed. 

To  these  years  belonged  also  his  first  longer  journeys, 
am.ong  them  those  to  Ann  Arbor,  for  the  commencement 
of  '64,  to  Ogdensburg  with  his  father  the  same  summer  to 


24  JOHN  HENRY   BARROWS 

attend  the  National  Teachers'  Convention,  thence  to 
Montreal,  the  White  Mountains,  Portland,  and  Boston ; 
in  '67  to  Chicago,  where  he  was  delighted  with  his  first 
opera,  Meyerbeer's  "L'Africaine."  In  connection  with 
these  trips  his  journal  gives  most  space  to  the  sermons  and 
addresses  which  he  heard.  Public  speaking  early  became 
his  passion.  He  threw  himself  into  the  work  of  the  Phi 
Alpha  Phi  Society,  of  which  he  was  a  charter  member, 
and  which  aimed  both  to  develop  the  oratorical  talent 
of  its  members  and  also  to  conduct  a  good  lecture  course. 
From  a  record  of  the  addresses  he  heard,  often  including 
elaborate  abstracts  of  the  discourses,  as  well  as  comments 
on  the  speakers,  come  the  following  quotations:  January 
30th,  1867.  "Fifth  lecture  before  the  association,  by 
Theodore  Tilton,  on  the  'Cornerstone  of  Reconstruc- 
tion,' the  finest  specimen  of  oratory  it  has  ever  been  my 
pleasure  to  enjoy — in  fact  Tilton  is  the  only  orator  I 
ever  heard.  He  spoke  to  us  two  hours,  which  seemed  but 
a  few  minutes.  He  is  a  tall,  youthful,  very  handsome 
man  of  thirty-one.  His  style  of  speaking  is  like  that  of 
Wendell  Phillips.  He  reviewed  the  subject  of  reconstruc- 
tion— the  different  plans,  the  true  plan,  looked  at  the 
whole  subject  of  suffrage,  was  very  logical,  very  convinc- 
ing, his  language  perfect,  no  hesitation  in  utterance,  did 
not  take  back  a  word,  perfect  respiration,  gestures  very 
forceful,  his  word  pictures  alwa5's  conveyed  a  piercing 
truth.  His  references  and  personal  conversations  added 
force  to  his  argument.  His  power  over  an  audience  is 
marvelous.     'Long  may  he  wave.'  " 

February  14th,  1867.  "Frederick  Douglass  spoke  on 
the  'Sources  of  Danger  to  the  Republic'  House  crowded. 
Mr.  Douglass  was  evidently  much  pleased.  He  spoke  to 
us  two  hours  and  a  half.     His  great  power  is  in  logical. 


OLIVET  DAYS 


forcible  statement  and  appeal.  His  language  is  potent — 
manifestly  a  great  man,  a  mixture  of  Webster  and  Ran- 
dolph. His  effective  sarcasm  is  another  element  in  his 
greatness.  *  *  *  *  j^jg  peroration  was  sublime, 
some  of  his  word  pictures  equal  to  Tilton's.  A  noble,  use- 
ful, great  man." 

March  4th,  1867.  "Wendell  Phillips  lectured  this 
evening  on  'Reconstruction.'  He  was  unable  to  give 
'Toussaint'  on  account  of  a  cold.  Mr.  Phillips  was  in 
no  trim  for  speaking,  and  those  who  have  heard  him  fre- 
quently say  they  never  knew  him  to  speak  so  indifferently, 
yet  it  was  not  difficult  to  see  the  elements  of  his  marvel- 
ous power.  His  style  was  conversationally  argumentative, 
his  language  strong,  picturesque  Saxon,  his  earnestness 
quiet,  his  repose  perfect,  his  position  that  of  a  pleader 
before  judges,  his  object  to  convince,  not  to  display  him- 
self. He  began  by  giving  his  views  of  the  Lyceum  system 
and  so  gradually  moved  off  into  reconstruction  that  no  one 
could  see  where  he  began  his  real  theme.  He  developed 
the  difference  between  northern  and  southern  ideas, 
showed  in  what  southern  statesmanship  had  been  the 
wiser.  He  gave  Beecher  some  friendly  blows;  showed 
that  the  constitutional  amendment  as  a  basis  of  reorgan- 
ization was  a  swindle:  justly  criticised  Grant,  approved 
the  new  military  bill,  but  demanded  the  impeachment 
and  removal  of  Johnson  to  carry  it  out.  No  one  went 
away  saying  'magnificent,'  but  all  were  convinced,  and 
wondered  how  the  time  had  passed  so  rapidly." 

Professor  Daniels  writes:  "I  can  never  forget  what 
a  red  letter  day  it  was  for  Olivet  when  Wendell  Phillips 
was  the  orator  of  the  evening  and  the  honored  guest  of 
the  Barrows  home.  Mr.  Phillips  had  done  his  great  life 
work.     Slavery  was  abolished.    The  war  had  ended.     He 


26  JOHN  HENRY   BARROWS 

had  won  his  laurels.  To  some  of  us  who  had  heard  his 
philippics  in  the  days  of  John  Brown,  the  address  on  "Re- 
construction" seemed  somewhat  tame. 

"But  what  an  inspiration  there  was  in  meeting  the 
man,  in  sitting  with  him  at  the  same  table,  in  seeing  the 
gleam  of  his  genial  eye  and  feeling  the  electric  touch  of 
his  great  soul.  What  a  thrilling  hour  for  a  young  man 
with  aspirations  for  a  like  service  to  humanity  in  the  field 
of  oratory. 

"Mr.  Phillips  was  in  his  best  humor  that  memorable 
evening.  He  was  the  'Autocrat'  of  the  table.  He  forgot 
himself  and  his  supper,  while  he  feasted  us  with  stories 
about  Webster  and  Gough  and  the  men  and  events  of  his 
time.  John  Henr}^  Barrows  had  a  new  baptism  and  con- 
secration to  oratory  that  night." 

Besides  his  other  work,  he  taught  in  the  preparatory 
department,  sometimes  history,  sometimes  Greek,  oftener 
Latin,  and  for  a  while  was  assistant  Librarian.  The 
librar}'^  hours  were  among  his  happiest.  Of  these  experi- 
ences he  later  wrote:  "For  many  months  in  every  year 
I  felt  toward  the  Olivet  collection  of  two  or  three  thou- 
sand volumes  much  as  Dominie  Sampson  did  to  the 
Bishop's  library  placed  in  Guy  Mannering's  hall.  To 
my  youthful  eyes  this  number  seemed,  as  the  Dominie 
would  say,  'prodigious' :  and  although  my  tastes  did  not 
lead  me  to  devour  such  leather  bound,  antique,  and  pon- 
derous tomes  as  he  reverenced,  the  Chrysostoms  and 
Aquinases,  I  was  often  discovered,  pausing,  like  him,  on 
the  step  ladder  with  an  open  book  in  my  hand,  oblivious 
of  that  tocsin  of  the  juvenile  soul — the  call  to  the  dinner 
table. 

"There  was  Sir  Edgerton  Brydges's  complete  edition 
of  Milton's  poems,  which,  with  its  learned  notes,  was  an 


OLIVET  DAYS  27 


endless  fascination.  In  spite  of  his  fiery  Toryism,  Sir 
Edgerton  yielded  to  no  one  in  his  estimation  of  England's 
greatest  master  of  epic  and  lyric  poetry,  and  many  years 
afterward,  while  reverently  musing  by  Milton's  grave  in 
Saint  Giles's  Church,  Cripplegate,  I  recalled  those  days 
in  happy  far-off  summers,  when  I  listened  so  constantly  to 
this 

'Mighty  mouthed  inventor  of  harmonies.' 
Among  the  books  read  from  the  old  library,  which  make 
it  dear  to  my  recollection,  are  Motley's  'Rise  of  the  Dutch 
Republic,'  which  no  student  should  leave  college  without 
reading;  Parkman's  fascinating  histories,  (the  series  was 
not  then  complete)  which  have  encircled  the  primeval 
wilderness  of  America  with  a  girdle  of  romance;  Pres- 
cott's  'Ferdinand  and  Isabella,'  Louis  Napoleon's  Caesar, 
which  is  now  as  dead  as  the  Napoleonic  Empire;  Vol- 
taire's 'Charles  the  Twelfth' ;  Tytler's  'Universal  His- 
tory,' an  exceedingly  arid  account  of  Germany,  which  I 
now  deem  a  grievous  insult  to  one  of  the  greatest  of  na- 
tions; Locke's  'Essay  on  the  Human  Understanding'; 
Forsythe's  'Life  of  Cicero' ;  Emerson's  'Representative 
Men';  Lord  Derby's  rather  un-Homeric  Homer;  Macau- 
lay's  'England,'  which  gives  no  sign  of  being  superseded, 
and  Tocqueville's  'Democracy  in  America,'  of  immense 
stimulating  and  corrective  wisdom,  but  now  giving  place 
to  Bryce's  'America  Comm.on wealth.'  And  I  remember 
with  great  pleasure  Bulwer's  'Athens,'  a  book  enriched 
with  spirited  translations  from  the  Greek  tragedians. 
Lord  Bacon's  essays  and  Thomas  Arnold's  lectures  on 
history  were  among  the  treasures  of  the  old  library,  and 
there  were  Webster's  speeches  from  which  came  the  moral 
ammunition  wherewith  our  soldiers  shot  the  slaveholders' 
rebellion.     I  recall  also  how  I  used  to  turn  the  curious 


28  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

pages  of  Burton's  'Anatomy  of  Melancholy,'  loaded  with 
Latin  quotations,  a  book  which  Emerson  assigns  to  the 
category  of  vocabularies:  'To  read  it  is  like  reading  a 
dictionar}'.'  And  I  used  to  delve  into  Sir  William  Hamil- 
ton's essays,  and  to  wonder  at  the  wide  scholarship  which, 
as  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson  would  say,  'Turned  over  a  whole 
librarj'  to  make  one  book.'  I  shall  not  forget  the  crisis 
in  my  mental  life  which  came  from  reading  Young's 
'Christ  in  History,'  wherein  I  learned  not  only  the  Deit>' 
of  the  world's  Saviour,  but  what  it  is  to  love  God  with 
the  mind  as  well  as  the  heart.  And  in  the  old  library  I 
read  a  famous  biography  which  brightened  my  path 
toward  the  Christian  ministry;  I  mean  the  'Life  of  Fred- 
erick W.  Robertson,'  the  most  suggestive  of  modern 
preachers,  and  such  was  my  thankfulness  for  that  book 
that  I  went  to  the  ugliest  chapel  in  London,  to  hear  a  ser- 
mon from  its  author,  the  Reverend  Stopford  Brooke,  and 
to  express  my  gratitude  for  the  moral  service  which  he 
had  unconsciously  rendered  to  a  young  student  in  a  far- 
off  western  college." 

The  following  rules  for  reading,  from  the  journal  of 
his  Sophomore  year,  are  of  interest,  because  he  followed 
most  of  them  through  life.  "I  have  decided  on  this  plan 
in  reading:  First,  have  a  systematic  course,  reading  works 
which  are  somewhat  connected, — as  Smith's  'Greece,'  Bul- 
wer's  'Athens,'  and  Cleveland's  'Compendium  of  Clas- 
sical Literature.'  Secondly,  never  pass  over  a  word  which 
I  do  not  understand,  a  historical  or  fictitious  reference 
which  is  new,  and,  especially  in  classical  reading,  a  geo- 
graphical locality  which  I  cannot  point  out.  Thirdly, 
seldom  mark  passages  in  books,  take  but  few  notes  while 
reading,  but  at  the  close  of  the  day  recall  some  important 
fact,  date,  or  thought  and  write  it  in  my  daily  memoran- 


OLIVET  DAYS  29 


dum.  Fourthly,  when  finding  anything  valuable  for 
future  reference,  mark  it  in  this  note-book.  Fifthly,  keep 
a  list  of  books  read,  with  comments."  The  list  of  books 
for  the  four  college  years  contains  but  a  hundred  and 
twenty-one  names ;  m.any  of  the  volumes,  however,  are 
long,  the  whole  number  of  pages  being  about  fifty  thou- 
sand. He  was  never  a  rapid  reader ;  he  remembered  much 
that  he  read  word  for  word, — especially  poetry,  and  was 
for  years  able  to  recite  without  hesitation  the  first  three 
books  of  "Paradise  Lost." 

His  social  needs  were  largely  met  by  his  responsive  and 
affectionate  family.  With  his  teachers,  too,  his  inter- 
course was  far  more  intimate  and  constant  than  is  pos- 
sible in  larger  colleges.  But  his  closest  attachment  was 
to  his  brother  Walter,  fifteen  months  his  senior.  The 
natural  rivalry  between  two  high-spirited  boys  spurred 
them  both;  and  is  expressed  in  the  following  selections 
from  Walter's  diary,  written  in  '61.  "I  commenced  this 
year  for  the  first  time  to  write  a  diary.  I  have  written 
one  page  a  day  with  one  exception  (and  I  wrote  that  the 
next  day)  and  on  the  Sabbath  two  pages.  John  began 
at  the  same  time  and  he  has  missed  nine  or  ten  times." 
And  again,  he  writes  of  his  dislike  for  school:  "I  had 
rather  stay  at  home  and  work  all  day  upon  the  farm, 
and  I  very  often  did  so,  as  in  summer  time  Father  would 
want  help,  and  I  could  ride  horse-back,  drive  oxen  and 
even  plow,  and  John  could  do  none  of  these  things." 
Walter  was  physically  the  stronger  of  the  two,  could  more 
easily  do  manual  work,  had  a  conscience  more  exacting 
than  John's,  and  a  will  equally  rigid.  Though  Walter 
found  Latin  and  Greek  difficult  at  first,  through  energetic 
and  persistent  work,  his  scholarship  eventually  equalled 
his  brother's.     This  college  competition   never  impaired 


30  JOHN  HENRY   BARROWS 

their  friendship,  for,  as  President  Morrison  writes:  "As 
the  brothers  approached  the  close  of  their  college  career 
an  incident  occurred  which  finely  illustrated  the  nobility 
of  John  Henry's  nature,  as  well  as  the  perfect  harmony 
and  sympathy  of  the  brothers.  John's  class-room  record 
was  a  fraction  higher  than  Walter's;  Walter  was  a  cal- 
endar or  two  the  elder;  John  was  entitled  to  the  valedic- 
tory oration  at  the  graduating  exercises,  the  chief  honor 
of  his  class.  With  a  rare  magnanimity  he  declined  the 
honor,  and  asked  that  the  valedictory  be  given  to  Walter, 
which  was  done." 

Professor  Hewitt  writes  that — "On  his  graduation, 
John  appeared  twice  on  the  same  program.  He  opened 
the  speaking  by  an  address  in  Latin.  My  recollection  is 
that  this  was  something  more  than  the  stereotyped  form 
of  salutation ;  it  was  a  discussion  in  classical  Latin  of 
some  of  the  principles  of  democratic  government.  His 
second  oration  was  on  Samuel  Adams. 

"The  class  of  1867  consisted  of  but  six  members,  but 
it  was  a  marked  class,  not  only  for  the  ability  of  the  mem- 
bers, but  because  it  was  the  first  class  of  men  which  the 
college  had  graduated.  In  those  days,  when  the  isolation 
of  Olivet  was  greater  than  it  is  today,  and  when  the  chief 
means  of  conveyance  to  and  from  the  college  was  the 
old  stage-coach  from  Marshall,  the  graduation  of  a  class 
of  six  young  men  marked  an  epoch  for  the  young  college. 
The  presence  in  the  college  for  four  years  of  two  such 
young  men  as  the  Barrows  boys  meant  very  much  for  the 
small  college  in  giving  it  prestige.  The  repute  of  their 
fine  scholarship  and  oratorical  ability  was  of  far  more 
worth  to  the  college  than  would  have  been  the  endowment 
of  two  professorships. 

"John    Henry    Barrows   was    gifted    with   intellectual 


OLIVET  DAYS  31 


qualities  of  a  high  and  varied  order, — qualities  which  in- 
dicated a  peculiar  fitness  for  any  one  of  three  distinct 
fields  of  activity, — the  field  of  scholarship,  of  literature, 
or  of  oratory.  With  high  ethical  standards  and  a  burn- 
ing hatred  for  every  form  of  human  oppression,  he  was 
an  ardent  champion  of  the  rights  of  the  down-trodden. 
He  always  had  a  large  faith  in  the  capacity  of  the  human 
race  for  progress,  and  in  the  power  of  the  gospel  of  Jesus 
Christ.  This  faith,  joined  with  a  large  capacity  for 
friendship  and  the  most  catholic  sympathy  with  other 
forms  of  belief  than  his  own,  made  him  an  optimist  in 
an  age  of  doubt  and  criticism.  It  was  easy  for  a  teacher 
to  predict  for  a  student  of  such  qualities  and  traits  the 
career  of  the  eloquent  preacher  and  the  scholarly  and 
efficient  college  president." 


CHAPTER  III 

PREPARATION     FOR     THE     MINISTRY — NEW     HAVEN     AND 
NEW   YORK   1 867- 1 869 

To  prepare  for  their  life  work,  my  father  and  his  like- 
minded  brother  Walter  left  Olivet  in  1867,  for  New 
Haven.  They  stopped  at  Oberlin  and  heard  Charles  G. 
Finney  preach  on  the  "Wickedness  of  the  Heart." 
Though  the  great  evangelist's  strength  was  then  failing, 
they  marvelled  at  the  "practical  and  searching  power," 
as  my  father's  journal  phrased  it,  of  this  man  of  whom 
Dr.  Cuyler  has  written,  "Probably  no  American  ever 
numbered  among  his  converts  so  many  lawyers  and  men 
of  intellectual  culture."  They  also  called  on  President 
James  H.  Fairchild,  then  presiding  over  the  college,  and 
he  wrote  in  my  father's  album,  "Fidelity  is  success,"  words 
the  young  man  ever  treasured.  His  stay  was  short  in  this 
Ohio  college  town  which  he  was  not  to  see  again  for  more 
than  thirty  years,  but  he  received  strong  impressions  of 
the  contrasting  personalities  of  the  two  leaders:  the  in- 
spired preacher  who  traveled  the  world  over  grasping 
men's  minds  with  his  logic  and  their  wills  with  his  fiery 
earnestness;  and  the  sweet-souled  teacher,  listening  to  the 
still  small  voice,  and  faithful  to  its  message  of  self-renun- 
ciation. 

From  Olivet,  that  palpable  anomaly,  a  new  college, 
to  Yale,  was  a  change  so  decided  that  our  tall,  slight 
youth  of  twenty,  with  shining  gray  eyes,  walked  to  his 
first  recitation  expecting  to  be  at  a  disadvantage  in  culture 


PREPARATION  FOR  THE  MINISTRY  33 

and  training  beside  men  from  eastern  colleges.  Soon  his 
trepidation  wholly  ceased,  the  discipline  of  small  western 
halls  proving  ample;  in  fact,  he  and  his  brother  found 
themselves  among  the  first  scholars  of  their  New  Haven 
class  of  twelve.  Dr.  G.  S.  Dickerman  writes  me:  "At 
the  Yale  Divinity  School,  your  father  and  his  brother 
occupied  the  room  directly  across  the  hall  from  mine  and 
I  saw  a  good  deal  of  them  both.  They  were  rare  fellows, 
of  scholarly  tastes  and  studious  habits,  but  none  the  less 
companionable  and  heartily  liked  by  their  fellow  students 
as  well  as  the  professors.  The  difference  in  their  training 
from  that  of  the  other  students  was  apparent,  but  not  to 
their  disadvantage,  I  think.  As  the  sons  of  Professor 
Barrows  they  had  enjoyed  opportunities  in  the  home  be- 
yond most  of  us.  Their  ideals  were  those  of  the  new 
country  in  distinction  from  the  conservative  spirit  of  New 
England.  They  believed  in  the  West  and  were  full  of 
western  enterprise  and  enthusiasm.  The  home  mission- 
ary field  of  work  was  more  attractive  in  their  view  than 
any  other  for  a  young  minister. 

"One  thing  especially  surprised  me  in  your  father's 
standards  of  culture — his  emphasis  on  rhetorical  form.  I 
well  remember  his  expressions  of  dissatisfaction  with  some 
of  the  professors  on  this  score,  especially  with  Professor 
Porter,  who  was  afterwards  President  of  the  college.  It 
was  rather  characteristic  of  the  Yale  faculty  throughout 
to  make  their  instructions  clear  and  forcible  rather  than 
elegant.  Professor  Porter  was  a  very  stimulating  lecturer 
and  intensely  interesting  as  a  thinker,  but  his  language 
was  utterly  reckless  of  form  and  often  of  grammar.  To 
your  father,  this  was  simply  shocking  and  unpardonable 
in  an  instructor  who  was  training  men  to  preach.  This 
attitude  of  mind  is  interesting  as  forecasting  the  elegance 


34  JOHN  HENRY   BARROWS 

that  is  so  well  known  in  Dr.  Barrows's  own  style  of  ad- 
dress. 

"One  efFect  of  their  being  at  Yale  was  to  impress  the 
Divinity  School  faculty  with  the  value  of  western  stu- 
dents. Active  eliForts  were  made  to  attract  the  graduates 
of  western  colleges  and  since  then  until  the  present  time 
large  numbers  have  come  thither."  He  did  not  under- 
rate Professor  Porter,  as  is  evident  from  his  letters  home: 
"I  think  Porter  is  a  great  m.an,  in  more  senses  than  one. 
He  doesn't  pretend  to  have  any  dignity  but  commands  re- 
spect as  well  as  affection.  To  see  him  with  his  old  cap 
over  his  ears,  you  wouldn't  dream  that  you  were  meeting 
one  of  the  biggest  men  of  Yale." 

In  connection  with  Professor  Porter's  course  in  Moral 
Philosophy,  he  read  widely,  and  carefully  analyzed  Ed- 
wards on  the  Will.  At  first  Hebrew  grammar  was  dis- 
tasteful to  him.  But  so  admirably  was  the  importance 
of  accurate  and  thorough  Hebrew  scholarship  advocated 
and  illustrated  by  Professor  George  E.  Day  that  before 
the  paradigms  were  learned  he  grew  to  like  it.  Indeed, 
in  crowded  later  years,  he  often  contrived  to  read  He- 
brew. He  was  delighted  with  his  Greek  Testament, 
taught  by  Professor  Timothy  Dwight,  whom  his  journal 
describes  as  "a  young,  but  very  thorough  and  fair-minded 
exegete,  repetitious  often,  but  wholly  satisfactory." 
Weekly  conferences,  at  which  faculty  and  students  dis- 
cussed questions  of  interest  to  both,  he  found  profitable, 
and  often  reports  in  his  letters. 

"Last  Monday  we  had  our  third  meeting  with  the 
faculty  for  extempore  discussion.  The  subject  was  the 
'Qualifications  for  Membership  in  the  Christian  Church.' 
I  was  amazed  to  find  the  faculty  so  liberal  in  this  matter. 
They  utterly  repudiated   the   New   England  and  Olivet 


PREPARATION  FOR  THE  MINISTRY  35 

plan  of  making  candidates  subscribe  to  a  theological  creed 
before  entering.  Professor  Fisher  said  we  had  no  right 
to  impose  any  other  conditions  than  Christ  did.  They 
told  amusing  stories  about  New  England  confessions  of 
faith.  All  agreed  that  when  a  pastor  was  convinced  that 
a  candidate  believed  in  Christ  and  was  regenerate,  he 
should  be  admitted.  It  is  of  course  necessary  to  be  satis- 
fied that  he  or  she  is  moral  in  action.  Professor  Fisher 
would  admit  a  Christian  Quaker  who  did  not  believe  in 
the  Lord's  Supper,  or  a  Christian  who  did  not  believe  in 
future  punishment.  The  question  of  admitting  slave- 
holders is  a  question  of  morality.  Dr.  Bacon  surprised 
me  most.  He  said  that  a  Congregational  Church  ought 
to  be  simply  a  Christian  church.  He  condemned  the 
sectarian  spirit  of  Congregational  journals!  He  told  us 
if  we  ever  founded  a  new  church  in  a  new  place  to  call 
it  the  Church  of  Christ — in  such  a  place — not  the  Tirst 
Congregational  Church'  of  such  a  place.  That  is  the  way 
the  New  Haven  churches  were  originally  called." 

"The  subject  for  discussion  at  last  Thursday's  meeting 
was  'Temperance  as  a  Christian  Virtue.'  Fisher  refused 
to  speak  on  the  subject,  as  it  was  too  broad.  The  others 
did,  however,  and  Bacon  and  Hoppin  told  some  ridiculous 
stories  about  Oberlin  extravagance,  which  they  held  up 
as  being  representative,  whereas,  as  we  know,  they  are 
merely  exceptional.  Dr.  Bacon  told  of  an  Oberlin 
student  who  was  so  anti-slavery  that  he  would  not  use 
anything  m.ade  by  slave  labor — even  cotton  and  sugar. 
He  took  lodgings  at  a  hotel  and  finding  there  were  cotton 
sheets  on  the  bed,  he  slept  on  the  carpet,  but  in  the  morn- 
ing he  was  horrified, — there  was  cotton  in  the  carpet! 
Professor  Hoppin  speaks  as  if  Oberlin  men  thought  it 
a  sin  to  use  tea.    Walter  said  he  wanted  to  tell  them  that 


7,6  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

he  had  taken  tea  with  the  President  of  Oberlin  College, 
and  if  Hoppin's  memory  wasn't  poor,  he  would  recollect 
that  he  had  done  the  same,  etc.  When  we  were  at  Ober- 
lin, we  disliked  to  hear  the  people  praise  themselves  but 
away  from  Oberlin  we  can't  bear  to  hear  Oberlin  misrep- 
resented. The  East  is  very  slow  to  learn  the  truth  con- 
cerning the  West.  I  have  wondered  how  strangers  who 
go  to  Olivet  can  endure  to  hear  Olivet  people  praise  them- 
selves. Here  at  Yale  we  say  all  the  good  words  we  can 
about  our  Alma  Mater.  When  we  go  from  here,  we  shall 
not  like  to  hear  old  Yale  falsely  represented.  Truly 
'there  is  a  good  deal  of  human  nature  in  man.'  One  ought 
to  become  acquainted  with  many  institutions  in  order  not 
to  overrate  or  underrate  any." 

In  addition  to  his  seminary  work,  a  course  in  German 
with  Professor  W.  D.  Whitney,  a  Sunday  School  class, 
the  formation  and  maintenance  of  a  missionary  society,  at- 
tendance upon  sermons,  concerts  and  lectures  helped  to 
fill  his  time.  The  following  letters  tell  of  some  of  the 
extras. 

New  Haven,  Conn.,  October,  1867. 
Dear  Mother: 

I  have  just  returned  from  the  best  preaching  I  ever 
heard.  What  shall  I  say,  in  a  word,  worthy  of  New- 
man Hall?  His  text  was  "Show  us  the  Father."  His 
manner  was  somewhat  different  from  what  I  anticipated 
— his  voice  of  infinite  melody — his  action  animated  and 
graceful — his  power  is  that  of  brief  argument  with  tender 
passion — the  Apostle  John  of  living  preachers — with  a 
spark  of  Peter's  boldness.  His  sermon  was  an  exposition 
of  Christ's  divine  humanity — a  showing  forth  of  man's 
need  and  God's  power  of  supplying  it.  Of  all  the  men 
I  ever  heard  he  preaches  and  embodies  Christ.    I  have  on 


PREPARATION  FOR  THE  MINISTRY  2,7 

my  table  the  "Church  Monthly,"  an  Episcopalian  review. 
Professor  Hoppin  sent  it  to  me  to  learn  a  declamation 
for  next  Thursday — an  extract  from  one  of  Bossuet's 
sermons — very  fine.  It  also  contains  a  severe  criticism  on 
Professor  Hoppin's  "Old  England" — a  criticism  that  en- 
hances my  esteem  for  the  Professor.  The  critic  com- 
plains among  other  things  because  Professor  Hoppin  ad- 
mires Newman  Hall's  preaching  more  than  that  of  the 
High  Church  divines!  I  don't  wonder  at  his  choice,  for 
I've  heard  both. 

Please  don't  get  J.  S.  C.  Abbott  out  to  Olivet.  He  is 
only  small  "small  potatoes."  I  pass  his  house  every  day. 
You  may  think  that  is  a  poor  proof  of  his  being  "small 
fry."  I  know  it,  but  it  is  as  good  as  Professor  Fisher's 
way  of  belittling  Webster's  dictionary.  A  student  cor- 
rected him  for  his  mispronouncing  a  word.  He  asked  his 
authority  for  the  correction.  "Webster's  Dictionary." 
"Pooh,"  said  Fisher,  "that  book  is  nothing — I  had  a  hand 
in  making  that  book  m.yself,  and  the  best  of  it  was  made 
next  door  to  my  room!"  Get  Miss  Dickinson  if  you  can, 
as  "Idiots  and  Women"  is  a  lecture  that  will  open  the 
eyes  of  some  and  stop  the  mouths  of  others.  If  she  would 
omit  a  few  extravagances  it  would  be  more  effective. 

I'll  finish  this  after  hearing  Newman  Hall  tonight. 

9  p.  M. 

I  have  just  returned  from  the  greatest  jam  ever  known 
in  New  Haven.  I  have  witnessed  the  desperate  attempt 
to  solve  the  problem — how  to  pack  a  church  with  a  thou- 
sand more  people  than  it  is  capable  of  holding.  After 
going  to  Professor  Thatcher's  lecture,  Walter  and  I  ran 
down  to  the  Third  Church — found  the  doors  unopened 
and  fifteen  hundred  people  outside.  When  they  were 
opened  the  rush  was  grand — the  pressure  to  the  square 


JOHN  HENRY   BARROWS 


inch  on  my  back  was  a  hundred  pounds;  once  I  was 
crushed  to  death  against  a  seat,  but  recovered;  sweet- 
hearts were  torn  from  their  lovers,  ladies  fainted.  The 
scene  was  uproarious.  We  as  usual  got  seats.  This  was 
before  the  bell  tolled.  On  the  people  came,  pressing 
those  in  front  upon  the  pulpit  and  out  of  the  doors  at 
the  pulpit  end  of  the  church.  The  chaos  was  at  last  re- 
duced to  order.  People  stood  patiently  through  a  most 
excellent  sermon,  and  those  who  couldn't  hear  the  first 
sermon,  with  many  who  did,  repaired  to  the  Chapel  Street 
Church,  where  Hall  preached  again.  He  is  a  most  un- 
selfish man,  preferring  rather  to  do  good  than  to  display 
himself.  He  is  a  great  preacher,  but  not  like  Beecher,  a 
man  of  great  creative  thought.  It  is  wonderful  how  he 
can  use  plain  truth  in  moving  men.  He  is  a  man  who 
reminds  me  of  Frederick  W.  Robertson's  picture. 

Your  John. 
"New  Haven  Theological  Seminary, 
"January  17,  1868. 
"Dear  Ones  at  Home: 

"The  lectures  of  Day  and  Dwight,  of  late,  though  not 
touching  on  the  matter  of  'verbal  inspiration'  directly, 
have  upset  that  doctrine  in  the  mind  of  every  Junior. 
Next  Monday  we  begin  Romans — I  have  bought  Stuart's 
Commentary.  Professor  Dwight  took  up  the  hour  this 
morning  in  giving  us  a  list  of  the  best  books  in  his  depart- 
ment, which  we  shall  need  for  our  libraries,  together  with 
their  retail  prices.  It  made  us  feel  our  poverty  pretty 
keenly.  The  books  he  mentioned  as  quite  desirable  cost 
about  $550.  They  were  almost  entirely  works  explanatorj'- 
of  the  New  Testament  text.  I  have  little  doubt  that  books 
alone  tend  to  malae  preaching  stupid.  About  the  'livest' 
sermon   I   ever  heard   in   New   Haven  was  last   Sunday 


PREPARATION  FOR  THE  MINISTRY  39 


morning  from  George  Beecher.  I  think  I  shall  try  to 
hear  him  frequently." 

During  this  year,  his  reading  of  theology,  history,  and 
philosophy  was  varied  and  extensive.  Adolf  Slater's  "Life 
of  Lessing"  and  Lewes's  "Life  of  Goethe"  first  opened  for 
him  the  door  of  German  literature.  His  note-book  speaks 
often  of  Dickens,  Tennyson,  and  especially,  George  Eliot, 
to  whom  through  life  he  was  quick  to  pay  his  tribute. 

His  throat  troubled  him  all  the  jear,  not  only  keepmg 
him  constantly  in  the  doctor's  hands  and  cutting  him  from 
several  weeks  of  lectures,  but  clouding  his  glorious  dream 
of  future  preaching.  Although  fearful  lest  he  should 
never  have  voice  enough  for  the  ministry,  he  bravely 
worked  in  number  9,  Divinity  Hall,  sought  the  gymna- 
sium each  day  at  ten,  and  walked  with  his  brother  to  East 
and  West  Rocks.  Walking  was  at  all  times  his  delight, 
though  solitary  exercise  rarely  pleased  him.  In  May,  he 
wrote  in  his  journal:  "Such  living  has  made  me  grow. 
Good-bye,  dear  Yale." 

The  second  year  of  his  theological  course  was  spent 
with  his  brother  at  Union  Seminary,  New  York.  In 
1868  under  the  leadership  of  Richard  T.  Haines  and 
Charles  Butler,  this  seminary  had  much  to  offer.  Henry 
B.  Smith  taught  Systematic  Theology,  Thomas  H.  Skin- 
ner, Pastoral  Theology,  the  brilliant  Roswell  D.  Hitch- 
cock held  the  chair  of  Church  History,  and  William  G. 
T.  Shedd  that  of  New  Testament  Exegesis.  Dr.  Philip 
Schaff  was  not  added  to  the  faculty  until  two  years  later. 
My  father  ever  honoured  the  "heavenly-mindedness"  of 
Dr.  Skinner,  the  "catholic  spirit"  of  Dr.  Smith,  and  "the 
impregnable  logic"  of  Dr.  Shedd,  but  he  found  Dr. 
Shedd's  theology  alien  to  his  faith.  He  once  wrote : 
"Calvinism    has    its    immortal    truths.     The    sovereignty 


40  JOHN  HENRY   BARROWS 


of  God  is  an  immortal  truth;  we  cannot  get  away  from 
it  if  we  would.  The  objection  that  is  rightly  made  to 
the  conception  of  sovereignty  embodied  in  the  theology  of 
the  Reformation,  is  that  it  seems  the  sovereignty  of  power 
more  than  of  benevolence,  the  sovereignty  of  kingship 
more  than  of  Fatherhood,  the  sovereignty  of  pure  will, 
more  than  of  Divine  love.  I  have  never  known  a  more 
saintly  man  that  the  late  Dr.  Shedd  of  New  York.  His 
theology,  hovrever,  has  been  called  not  a  description,  but 
an  arraignment  of  the  Divine  government.  It  was  more 
rigid  than  anything  which  the  worst  enemies  of  John  Cal- 
vin ever  interpreted  that  great  man  as  teaching.  We 
used  to  go  out  from  his  lecture-room,  with  its  sombre 
mediasvalism  of  doctrine,  an  echo  from  the  darkest  ages 
of  human  fear,  where  man  was  pictured,  not  as  a  child  in 
the  arm  of  a  father,  but  as  a  hunted  deer  under  the  paw  of 
a  lion,  and  look  up  at  the  bright  sky  and  at  the  telegraph 
wires  in  order  to  get  back  into  the  nineteenth  century." 
And  so  abhorrent  to  his  nature  was  this  theology,  that  his 
faith  in  his  calling  to  the  ministry  weakened.  At  this 
hour  of  need,  he  came  face  to  face  with  a  great  person- 
ality. 

One  who  feels  the  "genius  of  places"  must  ever  be  at- 
tracted by  Plymouth  Church.  When  my  father  entered 
it,  all  the  Puritan  within  him  rose  up  to  salute  its  un- 
adorned walls,  and  he  felt  singularly  at  home.  Much  in 
him  responded  to  Mr.  Beecher's  pulpit  oratory,  to  his 
love  of  art,  historic  sense,  intense  patriotism,  power  over 
men  and  belief  in  them,  joy  in  living,  and  most  of  all 
to  his  spiritual  insight.  On  his  return  from  his  first 
journey  across  the  river  to  Orange  street,  my  father  wrote 
in  his  journal:  "Mr.  Beecher's  prayer  was  richer  in  re- 
ligious ideas  than  that  of  any  man  I  ever  heard.     It  was 


PREPARATION  FOR  THE  MINISTRY  41 

inspired  emotion  poured  forth  in  simple,  powerful  speech," 
and  at  the  end  of  the  year  we  read:  "Mr.  Beecher  has 
been  worth  more  to  me  than  the  Seminary,  he  is  a  well- 
spring  of  divine  power.  My  debt  to  him  is  incalculable." 
During  this  year,  President  Morrison,  then  of  Olivet, 
proposed  that  he  fit  himself  for  the  chair  of  modern  lan- 
guages in  Olivet  College.  At  this  time  and  through 
life,  the  path  of  the  scholar  always  looked  bright  to  him, 
but  he  writes  to  his  mother:  "I  was  of  course  surprised 
that  the  President  thought  me  worth  securing  for  so  hon- 
ourable a  position  as  a  professorship  in  the  best  institution 
of  learning  in  the  whole  Northwest.  I  feel  deeply  grateful 
for  all  the  interest  that  has  for  years  been  shown  me  by 
one  who,  in  many  respects,  has  had  the  largest  moulding 
influence  on  my  education  of  any  living  being.  What 
little  culture  and  discipline  I  have  obtained,  intellectually 
and  morally,  are  due,  next  to  training  at  home,  to  the  wise 
stimulus  and  thorough  instruction  of  President  Morrison. 
I  have  always  regarded  him  and  the  Greek  language  as  my 
mental  parents.  I  hope  to  be  worthy  of  so  good  a  par- 
entage. We  have  proposed  all  along  to  complete  a  three 
years'  course  in  theolog>',  and  then  see  what  Providence 
indicated  for  the  future.  We  have  had  on  the  whole  good 
health  and  have  been  deeply  interested  in  our  work.  While 
conscious  of  our  poor  preparation  for  the  great  work  of 
preaching,  it  has  been  our  hope  that  God  might  still  use 
us  for  som.e  humble  service  in  the  great  Gospel  ministry. 
We  have  felt  that  we  needed  the  ministry  as  much  as  the 
ministry  needed  us,  and  all  who  were  decently  qualified 
for  its  work.  We  need  to  get  out  from  the  student's 
habits  of  mind  into  something  warmer  and  less  critical. 
The  pastor's  work  with  its  development  of  the  sympathies, 
and  the  preacher's  work  of  giving  out  as  well  as  pouring 


JOHN   HENRY   BARROWS 


in, — all  this  we  have  felt  great  need  of,  for  our  own  sakes 
at  least.  Then  we  have  not  been  insensible  to  the  press- 
ing demand  for  laborers  in  the  Gospel  ministry  both  at 
home  and  abroad.  Our  greatest  troubles  have  been  our 
poor  throats.  Walter's  is  very  weak  at  present,  mine  is 
not  strong.  We  have  feared  that  this  drawback  might 
keep  us  from  preaching  any  great  length  of  time.  Still 
we  shall  never  be  satisfied  in  our  consciences  and  judg- 
ment of  what  is  best,  unless  we  complete  a  Theological 
course  and  enter  the  ministry. 

"Nothing  would  so  fall  in  with  my  selfish  inclinations 
as  to  accept  the  plan  proposed.  Only  I  should  need  to 
spend  more  than  one  year  in  Europe.  Since  coming  to 
New  York  I  have  spent  considerable  time  at  odd  intervals 
upon  French.  Professor  Alexy,  as  you  know,  has  been  a 
great  help,  especially  in  French  conversation.  He  thinks 
three  months  in  Paris  would  enable  me  to  speak  the  lan- 
guage quite  fluently.  But  sending  me  abroad  might  be 
a  bad  investment  for  the  college.  More  efficient  teachers 
in  the  department  of  modern  languages  can  be  obtained 
with  less  trouble.  We  have  such  in  the  Seminary.  As 
things  stand,  it  appears  now  that  nothing,  except  health 
and  duty  to  our  parents,  should  interfere  to  prevent  the 
completing  of  our  Theological  course.  How  our  affairs 
will  be  at  the  close  of  the  year,  we  cannot  say."  Much 
more  that  made  up  this  brief  but  critical  year  appears  in 
the  following  letters  to  his  family: 

"November  21,   1868. 

"I  did  not  intend  to  do  anything  so  pleasant  and  easy 
as  to  write  home  tonight,  as  my  unfinished  manuscript  lies 
on  the  table  calling  me  to  settle  forever  all  the  controver- 
sies on  fate,  freewill,  and  foreknowledge.  Four  weeks  of 
hard   reading  and   continual   discussion   have   resulted   in 


PREPARATION  FOR  THE  MINISTRY  43 

an  essay  of  a  half-hour's  length,  which  leaves  most  of  the 
great  problems  unsettled  in  my  own  mind.  Walter  and 
I  have  become  more  convinced  of  human  freedom,  though 
the  doctrines  of  decrees  and  predestination  are  still  'with- 
out form  and  void.' 

"Thursday  was  the  great  day.  The  announcement 
that  Beecher  was  to  open  the  discussion  on  'How  are 
Prayer-m.eetings  to  be  most  Effective?'  filled  the  church 
to  overflowing.  The  prayer-meeting  from  nine  to  ten 
was  very  interesting.  Ralph  Wells  led.  Our  missionary, 
Mr.  Wilder,  took  part.  At  ten  the  President,  Dr.  Cros- 
by, called  the  convention  to  order.  Old  Dr.  S.  H.  Cox, 
beautiful  old  man,  dressed  to  perfection,  arose  and  spoke 
of  the  privilege  he  expected  of  being  introduced  to  Grant 
that  evening,  and  he  wanted  the  convention  to  send  their 
congratulations  et  cetera.  He  was  called  to  the  stand  and 
made  one  of  those  speeches  one  remembers  for  a  lifetime 
in  the  most  grandiloquent  phrases,  quoting  Latin,  point- 
ing with  his  black  cane  to  the  heavens,  shaking  his  beaver 
hat.  I  thought  I  should  die  with  laughter.  Beecher 
sat  in  his  chair  and  grinned  audibly.  Dr.  Crosby  told 
Dr.  Cox  he  must  reduce  his  proposition  to  writing.  He 
sat  down  to  do  so,  and  then  Beecher  was  introduced  to 
the  expectant  audience.  It  was  the  happiest  effort  I  ever 
heard  from  any  man,  giving  his  wealth  of  wisdom  and 
experience  on  the  conducting  of  meetings.  The  audience 
was  convulsed  with  merriment  or  moved  to  tears.  We 
were  right  in  front  and  enjoyed  it  hugely.  Old  School, 
New  School,  all  denominations  were  fused  together  and 
moved  at  Beecher's  will.  Dr.  Cox  couldn't  write  his 
motion  as  he  confessed  afterwards,  he  laughed  so  much. 
The  President  lost  his  dignity.  There  on  the  floor  was 
the  Editor  of  the  Observer,  hardly  able  to  contain  him- 


44  JOHN  HENRY   BARROWS 

self.  A  woman  behind  me  shouted  'Glory  to  Jesus.'  I 
think  Beecher's  humor  is  the  most  marvelous  faculty  pos- 
sessed by  any  man  I  ever  heard.  He  jumped  right  into 
his  subject  and  spoke  of  the  moral,  social,  and  physical 
elements  of  a  prayer  meeting.  His  suggestions  were  ad- 
mirable, a  'world  of  common  sense'  as  one  man  said. 
Beecher  thought  a  prayer  meeting  was  a  school  of  train- 
ing in  spiritual  things.  He  believed  in  women's  prayers. 
(Applause.)  'We  gnaw  the  bones  and  throw  the  fat 
away.'  The  timid  ones  are  the  ones  that  do  the  most  good 
when  they  speak.  Some  men  are  to  be  choked  off.  The 
great  thing  to  be  aimed  at  is  naturalness  and  sincerity. 
Many  become  unconscious  hypocrites  imitating  others. 
Beecher  spoke  eloquently  of  the  use  of  hymns,  the  poetical 
liturgies,  the  best  prayers  we  have.  Long  theological 
hymns  which  tell  the  Lord  all  he  ever  did,  he  did  not  be- 
lieve in.  He  took  down  the  deacons  who  do  all  the  pray- 
ing. One  reason  why  meetings  for  prayer  often  fail  is  that 
they  are  held  in  too  large  rooms.  Beecher  told  of  lecturing 
in  Columbus  to  an  audience  of  ten.  He  enjoyed  it,  but  he 
made  the  men  sit  on  the  front  row.  The  failure  of  meet- 
ings is  largely  due  to  pastors  themselves.  He  gave  a  his- 
tory of  prayer-meetings  in  Plymouth  Church,  their  small 
beginnings,  and  how  he  worked  for  ten  years  before  they 
became  what  they  are  now.  I  wish  you  could  have  been 
there.  It  did  all  immense  good,  as  many  acknowledged 
afterwards.  Beecher  was  allowed  to  speak  an  hour.  A 
half  hour  was  the  usual  time.  Dr.  Cox  hadn't  finished 
his  resolutions,  so  Dr.  Hall,  the  big  gun  of  New  York, 
was  called  on  to  speak  on  'How  to  promote  the  study  of 
the  Bible?'  He  bowed  to  Beecher  and  complimented  him 
on  his  speech,  so  full  of  valuable  things  et  cetera.  Dr. 
Hall  spoke  very  well  for  a  half  hour,  but  he  is  not  a  gen- 


PREPARATION  FOR  THE  MINISTRY  45 

ius  or  an  orator.  Dr.  Cox  managed  to  write  his  resolu- 
tion, which  he  read.  It  set  the  whole  house  roaring,  an 
address  to  Grant,  full  of  tremendous  phrases,  Latin  quo- 
tations, e  pluribus  unum,  este  perpetua,  semper  eadem  et 
cetera.  I  thought  Beecher  would  burst.  As  soon  as  Dr. 
Cox  had  finished  his  document  Dr.  Hall  offered  a  brief 
substitute,  but  a  motion  of  Dr.  Budington  sent  the  whole 
thing  to  the  business  committee.  Dr.  Hall  suggested  that 
Grant  did  not  understand  Latin,  after  which  the  conven- 
tion broke  up.  Beecher  related  some  funny  stories  about 
his  experiences  in  silencing  bores  in  prayer-meeting.  The 
poor  speakers  in  meeting,  he  said,  always  spoke  the  best. 
We  were  very  glad  to  meet  old  Dr.  Cox,  who  according 
to  B.  quotes  Latin  in  his  prayers.  In  the  evening  was 
the  closing  meeting,  crowded  house.  Dr.  McCosh  of 
Princeton  opened  with  an  account  of  Christian  work  in 
Great  Britain.  He  has  a  fine  face,  the  scholar's  stoop, 
Scotch  accent,  ducks  his  head  like  Vincent,  is  very  fluent 
and  wordy.  He  spoke  'to  edification.'  The  Christian 
Evangelical  Alliance  will  meet  in  New  York  next  fall. 
The  great  men  of  Europe  will  be  here.  McCosh  moved 
me  considerably,  he  ought  to  have  succeeded  to  the  chair 
of  Sir  William  Hamilton,  instead  of  to  that  of  Jonathan 
Edwards.  William  E.  Dodge,  Jr.,  and  Moody  of  Chi- 
cago spoke.  Alexy  was  carried  away  by  Moody,  thought 
he  did  better  than  McCosh. 

"Friday  evening  we  went  to  Beecher's  prayer-meeting 
accompanied  by  C.  of  the  Junior  class,  from  Amherst  and 
a  member  of  Beecher's  church,  and  B.  of  our  class.  We 
walked  down  to  Catherine  Ferry  and  found  the  room 
nearly  full  when  we  arrived.  Eight  hundred  were  pres- 
ent. Beecher  with  his  flowers  sat  on  a  slightly  raised 
platform.     The  meeting  was  opened  with  singing,  piano 


46  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

accompanying.  Then  Beecher  spoke  about  heaven  and 
what  people  expected  in  heaven,  some  looked  for  rest ; 
some,  for  society;  some,  liberty;  some,  especially  to  meet 
friends  gone  before.  He  heard  a  slave  song  in  South 
Carolina  which  ran  'No  more  Monday  mornings  there." 
Monday  morning  epitomized  the  whole  of  slavery.  Then 
Beecher  spoke  of  those  who  have  no  anticipations  of 
heaven.  'Brother  Bell,  will  you  pray  for  such?'  After 
an  earnest  and  simple  prayer  from  Brother  Bell  there  was 
another  hymn  and  then  another  prayer  and  then  a  young 
man  arose  and  questioned  Beecher  about  his  Sunday  even- 
ing sermon.  Then  an  old  man  spoke  about  the  hopes  of 
heaven,  then  Moody  of  Chicago  told  a  very  affecting  in- 
cident about  a  man's  rejoicing  in  the  death  of  his  only 
daughter  because  it  led  him  to  Christ.  Then  a  young 
man  who  had  lost  both  his  wife  and  his  child  arose  and 
expressed  the  wish  that  he  might  be  led  to  rejoice  in  his 
sorrows.  Then  Beecher  prayed  for  the  sorrowing.  After 
singing  'Joyfully,  joyfully  onward  we  move,'  Beecher  said 
that  while  Christ  and  the  Apostles  were  on  the  Mount  of 
Transfiguration  devils  were  tearing  men  below.  We  have 
been  seeing  heavenly  things,  but  the  time  has  come  to  de- 
scend to  the  practical  things  of  earth.  He  then  told  ol 
a  lady  who  was  teaching  and  helping  the  people  of  Alex- 
andria who  came  to  him  for  permission  to  ask  his  church 
for  aid.  He  refused  for  a  long  while  but  finally  consented 
if  she  would  come  to  his  prayer-meeting  and  present  her 
cause.  But  she  did  not  know  how  to  speak  in  meeting. 
He  asked  her  if  she  would  answer  questions,  and  she  said 
'Yes.'  'Miss  Parker,  stand  up.'  Miss  Parker  rose  and 
Henry  questioned  her,  and  she  replied  very  well  indeed. 
He  told  her  to  tell  us  no  fibs  about  not  being  able  to  speak 


PREPARATION  FOR  THE  MINISTRY  47 

in   meeting.      A   collection   was    then    taken   up   for   her 
amounting  to  seventy-five  dollars. 

"After  the  meeting  we  went  forward  to  present  our 
letters.  Quite  a  number  stopped ;  Moody,  and  several 
from  the  Christian  convention  who  came  to  see  if  Beecher 
knew  how  to  conduct  a  prayer-meeting.  The  church 
committee  was  called  together,  and  after  a  prayer  from 
Beecher  in  which  he  asked  that  'we  might  not  be  only 
beneficiaries  but  benefactors,'  he  read  our  letters  from 
Chapel  Street  Church.  The  clerk  took  down  our  names 
in  full.  Beecher  remarked  that  half  of  my  name  was  a 
very  good  one.  He  then  questioned  us  as  to  where  we 
lived,  how  long  we  had  been  professing  Christians,  and 
then  whether  we  were  'teetotalers'  or  not.  Walter  said 
he  did  not  know  the  taste  of  liquor.  'That  will  satisfy 
you,  Brother  Fanning.'  Moody  asked  what  they  would 
have  done  if  we  had  replied  that  we  took  a  glass  now  and 
then.  Beecher  said  that  in  such  cases  they  put  the  applr- 
cant  off  with  one  excuse  or  another  to  see  if  he  could  not 
be  persuaded  to  reform.  The  church  brought  all  the 
moral  influence  it  could  to  bear  upon  its  members.  One 
liquor-seller  was  kept  away  two  years  till  at  last  he  gave 
up  his  traffic  and  now  is  an  ornament  to  the  church. 
There  was  no  rule  excluding  such  persons,  but  Beecher 
said  if  they  resisted  all  the  moral  influence  brought  to 
bear  on  them  we  should  doubt  whether  they  were  Chris- 
tians and  they  would  generally  be  excluded  for  that  rea- 
son. John  Zundel,  the  organist,  then  spoke  up  and  said 
he  was  admitted  though  he  drank  wine  and  always  ex- 
pected to.  This  created  some  laughter,  and  Beecher  ex- 
plained that  he  was  a  German  who  went  back  to  Ger- 
m.any  last  year,  and  so  had  fallen  from  grace.  Zundel 
acknowledged  that  he  had  taken  much  less  wine  because  he 


JOHN   HENRY  BARROWS 


knew  how  the  church  regarded  it.  Moody  then  asked 
Beecher  if  he  would  admit  him  into  the  church.  'I  should 
want  to  be  first  convinced  that  you  were  a  Christian!' 
'But/  said  Moody,  'supposing  I  were  a  modest  man?' 
'Oh,'  said  Beecher,  'that  is  not  a  supposable  case.'  So 
they  had  it  to  and  fro.  Moody  asked  if  Beecher  would  ad- 
mit Arminians  into  the  Church.  'If  I  believed  they  were 
Christians.  I  believe  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  who  can  save 
a  man  from  the  power  of  the  devil  can  save  a  man  in 
spite  of  his  creed.  Brother  Fanning  here  has  a  good 
many  tests  to  apply  to  candidates,  I  simply  try  to  find  if 
there  is  dependence  on  Christ,  the  "helpless  hangs  my  soul 
on  thee"  spirit.'  Moody  wanted  to  know  if  Beecher 
would  admit  a  lady  who  went  to  balls  and  the  theatre. 
Well,  he  would  do  what  he  could  to  teach  her  better  at 
first,  but  that  was  one  of  those  things  which  must  be  left 
to  the  individual  conscience.  So  we  got  a  good  deal  of 
Beecher's  theology.  Beecher  thought  that  he  was  the  one 
that  was  examined  rather  than  we.  He  and  Moody  kept 
us  laughing  continually.  Beecher  asked  if  we  were  work- 
ing at  all.  We  said  we  were  laboring  in  New  York. 
'Well,  we  need  you  in  our  church,  but  if  you  are  working 
in  New  York  do  stay  there!'  He  has  no  mercy  on  New 
York.  So  we  found  that  it  is  no  easy  matter  to  get  into 
Plymouth  Church,  but  I  did  not  mean  to  go  into  partic- 
ulars so  much.  We  were  the  only  ones  that  joined  Plym- 
outh, Friday  evening.  Beecher  expected  a  young  lady 
from  New  York,  who  met  him  after  his  speech  at  the 
Christian  Convention,  and  told  him  she  always  disliked 
him,  would  never  go  to  hear  him,  would  never  read  his 
sermons.  But  last  Sunday  she  did  go  to  hear  him,  and 
the  Lord  converted  her  to  pay  for  it." 


PREPARATION  FOR  THE  MINISTRY  49 

"January,  1869. 
"As  we  entered  Dr.  E.  H.  Chapin's  parlors  we  caught 
sight  of  the  round,  beaming,  butter-milk  face  of  the  phi- 
losopher of  the  Tribune.  We  sat  down  to  listen  to 
Greeley's  conversation  with  his  pastor,  surprised  to  see 
him  out  of  the  editorial  sanctum  down  town,  and  admir- 
ing the  philosopher's  cow-hide  boots  with  soles  an  inch 
or  two  thick.  Greeley,  'The  Unitarians  are  mostly  Uni- 
versalists,  aren't  they?'  Chapin,  'Nine-tenths  of  them.' 
Greeley,  'They  must  be  to  be  logical.'  He  asked  Greeley 
if  Beecher  was  lecturing  any.  Greeley  thought  not,  as 
he  was  writing  the  life  of  Christ.  Chapin  didn't  know 
whether  that  was  Beecher's  field  or  not.  Greeley  said 
it  would  be  a  book  of  fervor  rather  than  critical.  Chapin 
thought  it  would  sell  well.  Greeley  was  sure  that  if 
Beecher  did  himself  justice  and  told  just  what  he  thought 
about  Christ  it  would  surely  sell  a  half  million  copies. 
They  were  speaking  of  Fiske's  arrest  of  the  Springfield  edi- 
tor. 'What  does  Wendell  Phillips  mean,'  asked  Chapin, 
'by  coming  to  the  rescue  of  Fiske?'  *Oh',  said  Horace, 
'He  is  pitching  into  everybody,  things  haven't  gone  to  suit 
him  and  he  has  become  malignant.'  'I  wonder,'  said  Cha- 
pin, 'what  Phillips  will  do  in  the  millennium?'  'Oh,'  said 
Horace,  'He  will  pitch  into  the  multiplication  table.' 
Horace  is  evidently  very  sensitive  to  Wendell's  sarcasm. 
It  is  quite  true  that  Phillips  changes  with  altered  aspects 
of  the  public  affairs  and  is  really  Inconsistent.  It  is  also 
true  that  Phillips  was  right  in  rebuking  Greeley  for  his 
part  In  the  Davis  business,  and  in  satirizing  his  attempts 
In  diplomacy,  which  have  been  failures.  In  such  matters 
Phillips  said  briefly  'Greeley  is  an  ass' — 'a  comprehensive 
argument,'  Beecher  would  say,  'including  all  the  facts  In 
the  case.'    There  was  more  talk,  about  Smalley,  the  Trib- 


so JOHN   HENRY   BARROWS ____^ 

line's  foreign  messenger  at  London,  whom  Chapin  said 
was  really  a  bright  fellow.  'We  have  no  reliable  news 
from  Spain,'  said  Horace.  'We  know^  nothing  about  the 
results  of  the  elections,  and  Smalley  has  got  to  go  down 
to  Madrid.'  " 

"February,    1869. 

"After  the  meeting  that  we  attended  in  Brooklyn,  the 
other  evening,  new  members  w-ere  voted  into  the  church. 
Then  we  repaired  to  the  main  room,  where  several  who 
felt  their  consciences  would  be  easier  by  the  rite,  were  to 
be  baptized  by  immersion.  The  whole  pulpit  stand  was 
transformied  into  a  baptistry,  filled  with  warmed  water. 
There  were  steps  leading  down  both  sides.  When  all  was 
ready  Beecher  appeared  robed  in  white  like  a  friar,  hav- 
ing on  rubber-boots.  He  gave  out  a  hymn  w^hich  the  con- 
gregation sang  as  the  rite  was  performed.  Three  ladies 
and  one  gentleman,  dressed  for  the  occasion,  came  in. 
Beecher  led  each  in  turn  down  into  the  water,  and  after 
the  usual  words,  which  had  an  unwonted  solemnity,  sub- 
merged the  candidate,  and  after  wiping  his  or  her  face, 
led  up  the  opposite  steps  the  dripping  form,  which  an 
attendant  immediately  wrapped  in  a  cloak,  and  the  in- 
teresting ceremony  was  ended.  Quite  an  improvement 
on  the  method  often  practiced  of  cutting  a  hole  in  the  ice 
and  letting  the  candidate  down  in.  I  heard  of  a  case  where 
the  tide  swept  one  person  under  and  away,  whereupon 
the  minister  shouted,  'One  soul  gone  to  heaven,  bring  me 
another.  '  " 

"February  14,  1869. 

"Monday  morning  Dr.  Storrs's  address  was  a  magnifi- 
cent intellectual  production,  on  the  'Incarnation  of  God  in 
Jesus,  the  Fundamental  Truth  in  Christianity.'  His 
rhetoric  is  exuberant,  but  choice.    He  gave  us  solid  blocks 


PREPARATION  FOR  THE  MINISTRY  51 

of  granite  truth.  But  they  were  polished  after  the  simil- 
itude of  a  palace  and  adorned  with  lavish  ornaments. 

"This  has  been  a  stirring  week,  but  I  can  only  give 
you  a  sketch  of  its  incidents.  First,  let  me  say  that  our 
board  has  cost  us  a  dollar  each  in  cash.  Dried  beef  and 
eggs  properly  mixed  make  a  'lordly  dish.'  Walter  and  I 
are  becoming  terrible  tea-drinkers.  This  will  last  till  the 
tea  on  hand  gives  out.  Secondly,  we  are  very  well,  en- 
joying superb  spring  weather,  and  have  done  our  usual 
mission  work.  'My  little  girl,'  as  I  call  an  eight-year-old 
daughter  of  Mrs.  Baldwin,  has  been  sick  and  nigh  unto 
death  with  diphtheria.  I  happened  in  as  usual  just  when 
I  was  needed,  got  a  physician  and  called  on  Mrs.  Higby 
for  money.  I  never  saw  a  little  girl  so  patient  in  severe 
pain.  She  told  her  half-crazy  mother  she  was  willing  to 
die  if  the  Lord  wanted  her.  I  have  called  three  times. 
The  diphtheria  is  gone  but  pneumonia  has  set  in,  the  case 
is  critical  still.  I  have  never  had  my  feelings  so  drawn 
out  to  a  sick  child  before.  Thirdly,  Tuesday  I  preached 
my  first  sermon  before  the  class,  and  Dr.  Skinner,  text 
Matthew  XI.  28.  I  never  was  in  so  embarrassing  a  place 
before.  The  criticisms  were  very  severe,  and  mostly 
just.  All  the  criticisms  on  pronunciation  were  wrong, 
as  I  knew  they  would  be.  Some  of  the  suggestions  were 
quite  helpful.  It  is  an  excellent  discipline,  which  I  should 
like  to  go  through  every  month.  One  or  two  of  the 
criticisms  were  laughable  blunders.  Walter  is  working 
bravely  for  the  ordeal. 

"Yesterday  we  hadn't  money  enough  to  get  dinner,  so 
I  came  to  my  room  and  boiled  eggs.  Our  darky  called 
in  the  afternoon  and  cut  Walter's  hair.  His  name  is 
Fisher  or  Piscator.  He  was  born  in  Jamaica,  speaks  four 
languages,  thinks  I  have  been  to  Paris  from  my  French 


52  JOHN  HENRY   BARROWS 

accent,  is  quite  a  philosopher  and  physiognomist.  We 
went  to  Plymouth  this  morning  and  got  in  this  time. 
Mr.  Beecher  gave  us  the  greatest  sermon  I  ever  heard, 
partly  on  Christ's  divinity.  He  gave  the  Unitarians 
same  awful  blows.  We  met  at  the  door  Mrs.  Putnam, 
Mrs.  Tilton,  Mrs.  Bradshavv,  and  Miss  Bradshaw,  who 
has  made  a  bust  of  Theodore,  Miss  Annie  Tilton,  Theo- 
dore's sister,  who  looks  like  him,  and  little  Florence  Til- 
ton. We  walked  with  them  to  Mr.  Tilton's  house,  126 
Livingston  Street,  and  took  dinner.  We  saw  Miss  Brad- 
shaw's  bust  of  Theodore  in  the  hall,  and  Page's  portrait 
of  him  in  the  parlor,  just  brought  from  the  exhibition. 
Tilton's  house  is  a  museum  of  art.  He  has  the  finest 
collection  of  engravings  in  America.  It  was  very  inter- 
esting to  us  to  notice  the  devices  and  ornaments  which 
make  his  house  so  charming.  But  Mrs.  Tilton  is  charm 
enough  in  herself.  A  quiet  womanly  woman,  simple, 
sympathetic,  and  good.  The  children,  Florence,  Alice,  and 
Carroll,  resemble  both  father  and  mother.  We  had  a  very 
interesting  talk  at  dinner.  Mrs.  Morse,  Mr.  Tilton's 
mother-in-law,  presided.  Mrs.  Tilton  asked  the  blessing. 
Theodore  is  in  Michigan.  We  drank  his  health  at  his 
wife's  request,  in  cold  water.  I  shan't  soon  forget  the 
roast  beef  and  the  conversation,  both  excellent.  We 
needed  Theodore  to  talk  about  his  pictures.  He  loves 
to  spend  hours  in  describing  his  treasures.  We  saw  the 
rope  that  hung  John  Brown,  or,  as  Theodore  expressed 
it  in  his  lecture  at  Lyric  Hall,  'that  suspended  the  last 
of  the  Christian  martyrs.'  " 

"February,    1869. 
"We  have  just  cleared  our  table  of  the  supper  dishes, 
consisting  of  a  tin  basin  and  two  teaspoons.     Buttered 
toast  and  boiled  rice  were  the  delicacies  of  our  humble 


PREPARATION  FOR  THE  MINISTRY  53 

meal.  I  make  no  mention  of  Malaga  grapes,  oranges,  and 
cranberry  sauce,  simply  because  we  didn't  have  any.  Yes- 
terday I  took  the  cars  at  South  Ferry  and  rode  five  or 
six  miles  along  the  west  of  Manhattan  up  to  Forty- 
seventh  Street  and  from  there  walked  to  Sunday  School. 
I  took  a  couple  of  little  girls  along  with  me,  who  had 
never  been  before.  I  had  hard  work  in  persuading  one 
of  them  to  go,  unless  the  other  would  take  off  her  blue 
silk  dress  and  wear  a  calico  one.     Human  nature  that!" 

Throughout  the  year,  the  fight  to  make  both  ends 
meet  was  on  in  earnest.  Several  afternoons  a  week  he 
spent  in  mission  work  in  the  nineteenth  ward,  in  behalf 
of  the  Sunday  School  of  the  Eleventh  Presbyterian 
Church.  He  writes:  "I  visit  about  twenty-five  families 
each  day  of  work.  After  having  called  on  four  hundred 
and  thirty-seven,  I  find  I  have  obtained  forty  new  schol- 
ars. I  have  been  treated  uncivilly  only  four  times.  Yes- 
terday a  dirty  little  girl  wanted  to  kiss  me.  I  had  to 
yield.  It  is  impossible  to  conceive  in  what  filth  some 
people  are  willing  to  live.  It  is  refreshing  after  visiting 
a  dozen  Germans  or  Irish  to  happen  in  on  a  clean  Episco- 
pal English  lady,  or  better  still,  a  Scotch  Irish  Presby- 
terian, or  best  of  all,  that  matchless  'piece  of  household 
furniture,'  a  New  England  Congregationalist!"  Besides, 
he  gave  lessons  to  an  illiterate  Wall  Street  broker,  who 
came  to  be  taught  to  speak  good  English.  His  case  was 
so  hopeless,  that  the  lessons  in  grammar  and  literature 
were  discouraging  to  pupil  and  teacher  alike.  With 
"Alexy,"  a  Hungarian,  his  best  friend  in  the  Seminary, 
he  read  French  diligently,  and  at  the  close  of  the  Sem- 
inary, in  May,  taught  History  for  a  few  weeks,  in  a 
girls'  fashionable  school  on  Fifth  Avenue  before  return- 
ing to  Olivet. 


CHAPTER  IV 

LIFE  IN  KANSAS     1 869- 1 872 

'Who  is  the  happy  warrior?     Who  is  he 
That  every  man  in  arms  should  wish  to  be? 
It  is  the  generous  spirit,  who,  when  brought 
Among  the  tasks  of  real  life,  hath  wrought 
Upon  the  plan  that  pleased  his  boyish  thought: 
Whose  high  endeavors  are  an  inward  light 
That  makes  the  path  before  him  ever  bright." 
"Character  of  the  Happy  Warrior." 

Wordsworth. 

However  strenuous  our  Happy  Warrior  had  been  here- 
tofore, in  the  fall  of  1869  he  faced  to  a  far  greater  de- 
gree the  "tasks  of  real  life."  Forced  by  ill  health  to  aban- 
don study,  he  and  his  brother,  with  their  father  and  sister, 
became  farmers  and  home  missionaries  in  Osage  County, 
Kansas.  They  were  lured  thither  by  Reverend  Thomas 
W.  Jones,  an  old  family  friend  and  one  of  the  leaders  of 
the  Anglo- Welsh  colony  of  Arvonia.  This  town  was  sit- 
uated at  the  junction  of  Cherry  and  Coal  Creeks  with 
the  Marais  des  Cygnes,  a  river  named  by  the  French 
voyagers  and  trappers  who  first  explored  the  west,  and 
made  famous  by  Whittier's  poem.  The  region  having 
been  until  recently  an  Indian  Reservation,  Arvonia  was 
but  a  few  months  old.  It  lay  iYi  the  midst  of  rolling 
prairies,  bare  of  trees,  save  for  the  heavily  timbered  river 
banks,  but  blessed  with  a  most  fertile  soil,  abundant 
game,  brilliant  wild  flowers,  coal  mines,  limestone  and  red 


LIFE  IN  KANSAS  55 

sandstone  quarries,  and  with  frugal,  energetic  and  God- 
fearing Welsh  settlers.  Here  the  Barrowses  bought  a 
farm.  My  father  made  the  Kansas  journey  before  his 
parents  and  describes  it  in  a  letter  home:  "We  drove 
slowly  through  the  black  mud,  crossing  several  creeks 
slightly  swollen  with  the  last  night's  rain.  Sam  and 
Luce,  the  mules,  gave  pace  to  the  caravan.  At  Salt 
Creek  we  stopped  to  feed  the  horses  and  mules.  Two 
miles  beyond  we  lost  sight  of  human  habitation,  and  for 
eight  miles  further,  till  we  saw  Arvonia,  there  was  no 
trace  of  man's  handiwork  but  the  black  line  of  the  road 
and  here  and  there  a  surveyor's  stake.  This  was  the 
finest  thing  about  it,  to  be  utterly  alone  with  nature. 
The  meadow-larks  and  many  smaller  birds  arose  at  our 
approach.  There,  flew  a  frightened  duck.  In  those 
woods  we  saw  a  crow  and  a  hawk,  birds  that  one  can 
never  get  away  from.  But  here — and  now  I  know  that 
I  am  in  new  latitudes,  only  a  rod  from  the  road  arise 
three  prairie  chickens — and  there  is  another — and  there 
another.  Oh  for  B.'s  blunderbuss!  But  the  sublimity  of 
these  wide-stretching  prairies  is  more  impressive  than 
aught  else,  rolling  on  in  'swelling  and  limitless  billows' 
of  luxuriant,  rampant  verdure,  with  no  tree  in  sight  till 
you  look  behind  you  at  the  magnificent  curves  of  the 
graceful  hills,  standing  out  clear,  against  the  blue  sky, 
five  miles  away.  Through  this  tall  grass  countless  armies 
of  buffaloes  have  roamed.  Those  beautiful  slopes  have 
been  crossed  by  the  war-paths  of  the  Indian.  Down  those 
hills  the  rebel  chief  led  his  marauders  against  the  herds 
and  homes  of  loyal  and  liberty-loving  citizens.  But  now 
the  buffalo  has  found  other  pasture  ground  and  the  Indian 
other  war-paths.  Slavery  is  dead.  Kansas  is  free.  'The 
rebel  rides  on  his  raids  no  more."     John  Brown's  spirit 


56  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

hovers  over  the  tracks  of  Quantrell  and  his  ruffian  prede- 
cessors, and  yet  these  unbounded  fields  have  never .  felt 
the  farmer's  plow.  The  prairie-flowers  waved  their 
purple  banners  over  these  hills  when  Columbus  landed. 
Perhaps  the  autumn  and  winter  fires,  fierce,  but  fertiliz- 
ing, had  lit  up  the  evening  sky,  when  Nero  burnt  Rome. 
This  soil  lay  untouched  and  virgin,  when  Paul  preached. 
But  that  black  line  of  road  is  the  beginning  of  a  new 
era.  Along  its  track  are  to  proceed  enterprise  and  in- 
dustry, Christianity  and  the  spelling  book,  the  mowing 
machine  and  my  trunk  full  of  theology!  I  walk  two 
miles,  am  in  high  spirits.  The  stars  come  out.  I  see 
that  I  am  to  be  as  long  in  going  from  Burlingame  to 
Arvonia  as  from  Chicago  to  St.  Louis.  Now  we  come 
to  the  Marais  de  Cygnes  and  turning  sharply  to  the  right 
we  see  seven  or  eight  houses,  the  'city  on  a  hill.'  " 

Remembrances  of  Medina  days  must  have  flowed  in 
upon  Professor  Barrows  and  his  two  sons,  as  they  boarded 
at  "Walnut  Slab  Hall,"  the  chief  edifice  of  the  tiny 
village,  until  their  house  was  ready  for  use.  Theirs  was  a 
story  and  a  half  building,  with  one  room  below  and  one 
room  above,  to  which  they  added  a  lean-to  for  kitchen 
and  pantry.  When  they  had  papered  down  stairs,  laid 
a  new  rag  carpet,  and  set  up  furniture  from  home,  they 
possessed  the  "best  room"  the  settlement  could  boast,  and 
all  strangers  were  brought  to  visit  it.  Mrs.  Barrows  re- 
mained in  Olivet  with  her  youngest  son,  but  when  chaos 
was  thus  far  reduced  to  order,  Mary,  the  daughter  of  the 
family,  came  to  keep  house  for  them  until  her  mother's 
advent,  the  following  summer. 

What  with  fencing  the  farm,  breaking  the  soil,  herding 
cattle,  doing  housework,  and  preparing  for  the  winter, 
that  was  a  busy  autumn  for  them  all.     But,  as  additional 


LIFE  IN  KANSAS  57 

means  of  transmitting  the  family  energy,  they  organized 
the  Arvonia  Literary  Society;  its  purpose  to  be  the  es- 
tablishment of  a  lecture  course  for  the  profit  and  pleasure 
of  the  tiny  but  rapidly  growing  community.  The  lec- 
tures, delivered  that  winter  over  the  chief  store,  proved 
a  decided  success.  As  the  family  contributions,  Professor 
Barrows  lectured  on  "Geology,"  Mary,  on  "Charlotte 
Bronte,"  Walter,  on  "Our  Republican  Institutions,"  and 
John  Henry,  on  "Hugh  Miller  or  the  Working  Man's 
Education."  Books  were  scarce,  but  a  missionary  box 
had  happened  to  hold  "My  Schools  and  Schoolmasters" 
and  "The  Testimony  of  the  Rocks."  On  these  he  seized, 
and  the  stone  mason  of  Cromarty  so  won  his  admiration 
that  he  had  to  share  the  "topic  in  his  head  and  the  throb 
of  pleasure  in  his  heart."  This  lecture,  first  delivered  on 
March  third,  1870,  in  Arvonia,  he  repeated  seventeen 
times  during  the  two  succeeding  years,  in  Lawrence,  To- 
peka,  Emporia,  Burlingame,  and  other  neighboring  towns. 
Meanwhile  he  had  not  forgotten  his  old  college  hero,  the 
man  of  such  energy  and  sagacity  that  the  Tories  called 
the  Revolution  "Sam  Adams's  conspiracy."  Kis  com- 
mencement oration  he  now  rewrote  and  gave  more  than 
a  dozen  times  to  Kansas  audiences. 

Besides  farming  and  lecturing,  he,  together  with  his 
father  and  brother,  both  preached  and  wrote.  In  Olivet, 
the  preceding  summer  he  had  given  his  first  sermon  from 
the  text  "Come  unto  Me  all  ye  that  labor  and  are  heavy- 
laden  and  I  will  give  you  rest."  When  a  few  years  later. 
Dr.  Henry  M.  Storrs  said  to  him  "Tell  me  honestly  did 
you  not,  like  most  young  men,  mention  Napoleon  in  your 
first  sermon?"  his  "Yes"  greatly  delighted  his  questioner. 
Dr.  Storrs  however  speedily  granted  him  pardon  on  learn- 
ing that  his  first  sermon  fell  on  August  fifteenth,   1869, 


58  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  Napoleon's  birth.  Dur- 
ing these  Kansas  years,  he  supplied,  often  weeks  at  a  time, 
vacant  pulpits  in  surrounding  towns,  built  up  Sunday 
Schools,  conducted  prayer-meetings,  and  visited  the  sick 
and  troubled.  His  most  carefully  prepared  sermon, 
printed  in  the  county  paper,  was  a  eulogy  of  church  unity 
delivered  at  the  laying  of  the  corner-stone  of  the  Arvonia 
Union  Church.  Twenty  years  later  he  wrote:  "We 
were  tired  of  divisions  am.ong  sects,  and  we  agreed  to 
unite  and  construct  something  that  would  be  worthy  of 
this  village  which  was  yet  to  become  a  great  railroad 
center.  The  Church  foundations,  brought  from  neigh- 
boring quarries  where  I  toiled  many  a  day,  were  laid  on 
a  large  scale,  but  the  foundations  were  the  only  part  of 
the  building  ever  completed.  The  people,  divided  by 
racial  and  denominational  distinctions,  soon  broke  up  into 
their  original  chaos,  the  railroads  never  came,  the  houses 
of  the  village  were  gradually  taken,  one  by  one,  to  neigh- 
boring farms,  and  last  year,  my  wife  and  I  visited  the 
ruins  of  this  deserted  village,  and  poked  around  amid  the 
weed-mantled  stones  of  that  ambitious  foundation.  Of 
course  I  recalled  the  fact  that  I  had  been  invited  to  make 
the  address  on  laying  the  corner-stone  of  this  structure. 
It  was  the  first  address  of  mine  ever  published  and  with 
what  a  thrill  of  paternal  interest  I  read  it.  I  have  a  copy 
of  it  in  my  scrap-book.  It  indicates  to  you  that  though 
a  preacher,  I  am  not  a  born  prophet:  'The  church  we 
begin  to-day  is  for  countless  generations  to  be  a  beacon 
light  of  truth  over  these  boundless  prairies.  Here  multi- 
tudes will  gather  for  worship.  Down  these  aisles  parents 
will  bring  their  children  to  the  baptismal  font  and  here 
the  happy  bride  and  groom  will  exchange  their  vows  of 
love  and  faithfulness  at  the  marriage-altar.    Within  these 


LIFE  IN  KANSAS  59 

walls,  will  be  heard  the  songs  of  praise  from  thousands 
of  grateful  hearts  and  the  service  we  render  today  will  be 
remembered  through  all  the  coming  centuries.'  " 

He  wrote  continually  for  the  newspapers,  the  Burlin- 
game  Chronicle,  the  Lyndon  Signal,  and  the  Lawrence 
Journal.  To  the  Topeka  Commonwealth  he  sent  fort- 
nightly contributions  signed  "Taliessin,"  the  Welsh  bard 
of  Gray's  line,  "Hear  from  the  grave  great  Taliessin, 
hear."     His  letters  breathe  happiness. 

Arvonia,  Kansas,  January  2,  1870. 
Dear  Mother: 

It  is  so  odd  to  write  those  two  new  figures  for  the  first 
time  that  it  is  hard  to  get  away  from  them.  1870 — 1870. 
Please  get  used  to  them.  The  old  year  and  the  decade 
have  come  to  an  end  in  Kansas,  with  the  usual  rejoicings, 
noises,  and  festivities  ushering  in  the  new.  Yesterday  we 
filled  up  with  skating,  roosters,  candy,  anvils,  smiles,  and 
thanksgivings.  There  were  sorrows  too,  mingled  wfth 
our  joy,  as  we  had  just  heard  of  Stanton's  sudden  death. 
The  great  War  Secretary  had  a  large  place  in  our  hearts, 
and  we  could  but  feel  a  proud  grief  for  one  of  the  na- 
tion's greatest  and  noblest  sons. 

What  a  year  the  past  one  has  been  to  us  individually 
and  as  a  family !  Indeed  my  thoughts  travel  back  through 
the  last  ten  to  i860,  when  the  family  flock  sat  on  its  Ohio 
roost,  preparing  to  fly  northward.  We  have  all  lived 
a  lifetime  since  we  took  that  eighty  mile  flight.  To  you 
the  past  ten  have  been  years  of  new  toil  and  self-sacrifice 
for  us.  To  us  children  they  have  been  the  making  of 
all  we  are,  mentally  and  morally.  The  great  world  has 
grown  as  much  as  we.  Since  I  began  to  study  the  ele- 
ments of  Latin,  events  great  and  numerous  enough  have 
occurred  to  make  centuries  of  history,  as  history  used  to 


6o  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

be  made.  Recall  them  for  a  moment,  and  never  despair 
again  of  the  future!  Within  the  last  decade  our  native 
land  has  been  regenerated  in  fire  and  blood;  the  greatest 
and  most  Christian  war  of  modern  history,  involving  tre- 
mendous issues  for  the  whole  world,  has  culminated  in  the 
death  of  slavery,  in  the  prospect  of  universal  franchise- 
ment  of  the  oppressed  of  all  nations.  How  old  notions 
have  been  broken  up!  What  was  radicalism  in  i860  is 
conservatism  today.  Then  cross  the  Atlantic.  England 
is  coming  out  from  the  shadows  of  the  past,  the  people 
have  nearly  doubled  their  power.  Aristocracy  has  been 
doomed.  The  Irish  church  has  been  swept  away.  In 
France  the  Imperialism  of  Napoleon  has  been  liberalized 
by  the  advancing  claims  of  the  people.  In  Germany  we 
see  Prussia  becoming  a  first  class  power,  gathering  into 
her  fold  the  scattered  and  discordant  states  that  have 
divided  the  German  people.  Austria  has  been  humbled 
and  then  liberalized.  Hungary  has  become  virtually  in- 
dependent. Italy  has  acquired  Venice,  and  is  united  and 
prosperous.  Russia  has  emancipated  her  serfs  and  Spain 
has  driven  out  her  Bourbon  queen.  Cuba  and  Crete  have 
striven  for  liberty.  The  Gospel  has  entered  China  and 
Japan.  The  Atlantic  cable  has  been  laid,  the  Suez  canal 
has  been  opened,  the  Pacific  Railroad  has  been  built,  and 
the  church  in  Arvonia  is  under  Vv-ay!  Find  another  ten 
years  to  eclipse  these  last. 

But  this  historical  re-hash  is  not  a  letter.  We  have 
just  returned  from  communion  service.  A  larger  number 
were  present  than  we  have  had  before,  which  is  a  sign 
of  progress  in  Arvonia;  more  than  a  dozen  new  faces. 
We  are  to  observe  the  week  of  prayer.  Walter  and  I 
are  cutting  down  big  oaks  for  fence-posts.  Mary  excelled 
herself  in  the  line  of   dinner.     Before  the  close  of  the 


LIFE  IN  KANSAS  6i 

fifth  course  we  became  exceeding  boisterous  "like  men 
drunken  of  new  wine."  But  the  year  proper  begins  to- 
day, for  from  this  morning  I  leave  off  all  tea  and  coffee. 
This  is  the  only  new  leaf  I  have  yet  turned  over.  How 
many  need  to  be!  I  hope  your  letters  will  fly  even  faster 
now.  What  studies  do  you  take  up,  Rannie?  Hamil- 
ton's Metaphysics,  I  hope.  We  are  reading  Shakespeare, 
in  the  family,  have  finished  "Cymbeline"  and  "Winter's 
*rale"  and  are  now  in  the  middle  of  "All's  Well  that 
ends  Well."  Our  copy  is  borrowed ;  please  put  Shake- 
speare in  the  box  you  send.  In  the  last  thirty-six  hours 
I  have  eaten  ten  apples.  Thanks  for  such  a  New  Year's 
gift.    Beautiful  weather.  Love, 

J.  H.  B. 

Arvonia,  January  gth,  1870. 
Dear  Mother  and  Brother: 

I  wish  every  week  of  my  life  could  be  as  happy  as  the 
first  week  of  this  year.  And  j'et  that  may  be  a  very  un- 
wise desire.  Suffering  is  often  more  needful  than  joy. 
You  will  wonder  what  it  has  been  of  late  that  has  given 
me  peculiar  pleasure;  nothing  out  of  the  ordinary  course, 
no  unexpected  ship  just  come  in  from  Spain,  but  simply 
the  combination  of  the  common  elements  of  happiness 
that  often  come  to  us  separately  and  singly,  but  rarely  all 
together.  Good  health,  buoyant  spirits,  pleasant  occupa- 
tion, agreeable  recreation,  a  reasonably  quiet  conscience, 
the  sense  of  God's  favor  in  doing  something  for  others, 
domestic  sport  and  comfort,  any  one  of  these  blessings 
singly  is  worthy  of  a  special  note  of  gratitude,  and  to 
some  lives  would  bring  new  hope  and  refreshment.  But 
to  have  them  all  conferred  at  once,  that  is  the  wonder, 
and  accounts  for  my  writing  as  I  do.     Well,  you  will 


62  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

care  more  for  the  news  than  for  any  meditations  of  mine. 
I  will  mention  first  that  we  relied  on  Mary's  apple 
dumpling  as  the  main  thing,  when  on  cutting  it  open  our 
hungry  souls  were  dismayed  to  find  the  dumplings  to 
consist  largely  of  half-baked  dough!  We  retreated 
hastily,  and  for  the  next  half  hour,  while  our  dinner  was 
re-cooking,  read  the  closing  chapters  of  "Silas  Marner, 
or  the  Weaver  of  Raveloe"  with  whose  simple  story 
George  Eliot  has  been  delighting  us  of  late.  Then  we 
returned  to  the  attack  refreshed  with  new  vigor.  Secondly, 
I  will  mention  the  fact  that  I  rode  on  Black  William  to 
the  sand  quarry,  Wednesday  last,  with  Jones.  Two  such 
horsemen  are  seldom  seen.  This  was  the  first  time  I  had 
ridden  a  nag  a  mile  since,  when  a  boy  of  twelve,  I  clung 
to  "Old  Dolly's"  back,  as  she  walked  from  Medina  to 
West  Unity.  Black  William  is  an  ugly  beast  to  ride, 
except  on  a  fast  run  or  a  slow  walk.  I  galloped  into 
town  at  a  tearing  pace,  amazing  the  villagers.  Thirdly, 
I  have  skated  more  this  week  than  during  the  last  five 
years  together.  We  own  ourselves  a  splendid  park  of 
glaring  ice,  a  half  mile  in  length  and  a  hundred  feet  wide, 
sheltered  from  sun  and  wind  by  high  banks,  over-hung 
with  trees,  from  which  you  can  gather,  now  in  January, 
still  juicy  grapes  as  you  skate  along.  Along  the  shores  I 
picked  up  nearly  a  bushel  of  black  walnuts,  as  fresh  and 
good  as  if  they  had  just  fallen,  four  hundred  and  forty 
nuts  by  count!  Fourthly,  a  few  miscellanies.  Walter  and 
I  have  sawed  ten  oak  logs.  Friday  we  received, — what  a 
time  we  had ! — eleven  letters,  and  the  Independent.  I  am 
reading  a  good  deal  of  French  with  Mrs.  M.  The  meet- 
ings last  week  were  well  attended  and  profitable.  The 
people  are  expecting  a  course  of  lectures  from  our  family, 


LIFE  IN  KANSAS  62, 

including  Mary,  as  soon  as  the  new  hall  is  ready.  Father 
will  speak  on  "Geology"  and  Walter  on  "American  In- 
stitutions."    Mary  and  I  have  not  chosen  subjects. 

Love  to  all, 

John. 

Burlington,  March   28,    1870. 
My  Dear  Mother: 

It  is  about  eight  in  the  evening  and  the  gladdening 
rains  are  pouring  without.  I  am  reading  a  little  in 
Lange's  Commentary.  The  next  Sunday  is  Easter,  isn't 
it?  I  am  reading  on  the  Resurrection.  Myers  says  that 
the  four  accounts  can't  be  harmonized.  I  think  with 
Dwight  that  there  are  twelve  weighty  reasons  on  each 
side  of  the  discussion,  but  I  disagree  with  him  in  believ- 
ing that,  on  the  whole,  the  probabilities  seem  slightly 
(though  a  judicious  mind  might  long  hesitate  to  decide) 
to  preponderate,  on  which  side  was  it?  I  think  a  man 
whose  convictions  are  like  Professor  Dwight's  opinions 
on  mooted  points,  will  never  run  into  dogmatism,  though 
the  dogmatists  will  naturally  run  into  him. 

A  fine  field  opens  here  for  somebody's  life  work.  The 
whole  community  would  feel  the  presence  of  one  live 
soul.  I  am  persuaded  that  there  is  nothing  in  this  world 
so  potent  as  what  Beecher  calls  "flaming  soul  power." 
The  greatest  earthly  influences  don't  He  in  money  or 
books,  but  in  human  hearts.  "The  foolishness  of  preach- 
ing" God  may  make  his  own  wisdom  and  power.  I  trust 
Mr.  Jones  will  come  to  Burlington  a  week  from  next 
Sunday  to  administer  the  communion  and  receive  new 
members.  He  may  do  great  good  in  a  short  time.  The 
people  remember  Walter  with  great  interest  and  esteem. 
I  trust  that  this  rain  is  pouring  on  our  "unweedy"  garden 


64 JOHN  HENRY  BARRO  WS 

tonight.     I  enclose  a  piece  of  dried  buffalo  meat.     It  is 
"bully."     I  shall  expect  a  letter  soon. 

With  love, 

John. 

Arvonia,  January  13,  1870. 
Dear  Mother : 

On  Wednesday  I  broke  into  the  ice.  Imagine  me 
skating  along  at  a  fearful  rate  admiring  the  still  beauty 
of  the  winter  scene.  The  morning  sunlight  plays  on  the 
neighboring  hills,  the  wood-pecker  and  the  noisy  crow 
make  discordant  clamors  in  the  tree  tops.  The  blood 
tingles  in  my  veins  as  I  glide  over  the  glittering  ice. 
Suddenly  the  smooth  floor  gives  way  under  my  feet  and 
in  a  moment  I  am  shot  with  terrific  velocity  far  under 
the  ice.  The  momentum  was  so  great  that  I  was  carried 
many  yards  from  the  hole.  My  presence  of  mind  was 
perfect  and  turning  about  I  swam  as  I  supposed  back- 
ward to  the  opening  into  which  I  had  fallen  but,  to  my 
dismay  I  could  not  find  it.  After  a  vain  search  for  five 
minutes  I  concluded  to  swim  with  the  current  as  I  remem- 
bered an  opening  in  the  ice  about  half  a  mile  away.  I 
was  not  much  encumbered  with  clothing.  My  back 
glided  easily  along  the  under  surface  of  the  ice.  My  pre- 
vious training  stood  me  in  good  stead.  But  suddenly  I 
was  stopped.  A  snag  projecting  downwards  through  the 
ice  caught  my  coat.  I  endeavored  to  extricate  myself  by 
swimming  backward  but  the  force  of  the  current  pre- 
vented. I  tried  to  break  the  stick  but  could  not.  Then 
I  bethought  me  of  father's  knife  which  I  had  borrowed 
that  morning.  Is  the  knife  about  me?  is  now  an  im- 
portant question.  In  a  moment,  to  my  joy,  my  hand 
feels  it.     I  open  it  with  my  teeth  and  grasp  it  firmly. 


LIFE  IN  KANSAS 6$ 

Suddenly  there  is  a  splash  and  a  dash.  Something  strikes 
my  knife  blade  into  which  it  pierces.  The  ice  is  so  clear 
above  me  that  I  can  discern  a  large  fish,  which  mistaking 
me  for  some  Jonah  fleeing  from  duty  or  attracted  by  the 
gleaming  of  my  knife,  had  rushed  toward  me  and  been 
pierced  to  death.  Even  in  this  extremity  I  determined 
not  to  lose  the  fish.  I  remembered  the  story  of  the  dea- 
con who  commanded  his  boys  not  to  fish  on  Sunday  but 
always  added  "Now,  boys,  if  you  ever  do,  be  sure  to  bring 
home  the  fish!"  I  found  a  loose  strap  in  my  pocket  and 
tied  the  huge  "sea  fowl"  to  my  left  leg.  By  this  time 
I  was  so  cold  that  I  was  afraid  I  should  be  unable  to 
reach  the  open  water  for  which  I  was  aiming.  My  only 
hope  of  escape  was  to  cut  through  the  ice  above  me.  I 
went  resolutely  to  work  for  my  breath  was  almost  gone, 
and  in  a  short  time  I  had  cut  a  hole  about  ten  inches 
in  diameter  through  five  inches  of  ice.  Into  this  I  poked 
my  head  but  could  go  no  further.  Before  I  could  cut 
room  for  my  shoulders  I  must  certainly  freeze.  So  I  be- 
gan to  yell  lustily  for  help.  Fortunately,  Daniel  was 
cutting  wood  on  the  north  side  of  the  river.  In  a  moment 
he  was  on  the  bank  to  see  what  was  the  matter.  It  was 
amusing  to  note  his  amazement  at  sight  of  a  man's  head 
peering  above  the  ice.  I  told  him  to  ask  no  questions 
but  to  cut  me  out.  He  hurried  forward  and  with  a  dozen 
blows  of  his  axe  he  so  loosened  the  ice  about  me  that  he 
was  enabled  to  pull  me  from  the  water,  my  huge  pickerel, 
still  clinging  to  my  leg.  I  w^as  so  numb  that  he  had  to 
carry  me.  Soon  we  met  Hugh's  wagon.  I  was  laid 
therein  and  driven  with  great  speed  to  the  house.  The 
sight  of  me  rejoiced  the  family  at  the  prospect  of  fresh 
fish.  While  father  was  rubbing  me  down,  I  related  my 
Munchausen  story.     Walter  makes  such  alarming  tales 


66  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

out  of  his  adventures  that  I  am  determined  to  try  my 
hand.  Your  loving 

John. 

After  January  first,  1871,  his  nevv^spaper  articles  are 
chiefly  on  educational  topics,  for  at  that  time  he  as- 
sumed the  duties  of  School  Superintendent  of  Osage 
County.  He  had  been  elected  to  this  office  on  the  regular 
Republican  ticket  in  spite  of  the  fight  put  up  against  him 
by  those  in  the  county  hostile  to  Arvonia's  anti-saloon  pol- 
icy. The  following  extract  from  one  of  his  newspaper 
articles  indicates  his  interest  and  spirit  during  this  year 
spent  in  riding  on  horseback  over  the  prairie,  visiting 
schools,  examining  applicants  for  teachers'  certificates,  urg- 
ing the  county  through  speeches  and  the  press  to  build 
school  houses,  secure  competent  teachers,  insist  that  treas- 
urers give  the  required  bond,  execute  the  law  about  uni- 
form text-books,  and  make  liberal  appropriations.  He 
writes  for  the  Burlingame  Chronicle: 

"From  a  pretty  wide  observation  we  are  satisfied  that 
some  of  the  best  school  work  in  Kansas  has  been  done  in 
Burlingame.  But  the  people  here  must  never  be  satisfied 
with  the  past.  Many  things  should  be  done  speedily. 
The  school  grounds  should  be  fenced  and  planted  with 
trees ;  philosophical  apparatus  should  be  purchased ;  the 
school  library  should  be  enlarged,  and,  above  all,  children 
should  not  be  taken  from  school  so  soon  after  they  strike 
their  teens.  The  high  schools  of  Michigan  are  becoming 
the  feeders  of  her  great  university.  Graduates  from  these 
schools  are  hereafter  to  be  admitted  to  the  university  with- 
out preliminary  examinations.  How  much  remains  to  be 
done  before  the  city  schools  of  Kansas  can  show  such  re- 
sults or  be  trusted  with  so  high  a  responsibility?     The 


LIFE  IN  KANSAS  67 


people  generally  are  deaf  to  the  claims  of  higher  educa- 
tion. A  reform  in  public  sentiment  is  needed  that  will 
strike  through  all  classes  in  society.  People  must  learn 
that  education  has  other  than  economic  uses.  A  nation 
of  money-changers  fighting  the  battle  of  life  with  the 
multiplication  table,  is  this  to  be  the  highest  result  of 
American  civilization?  Or,  as  Wendell  Phillips  put  it 
a  dozen  years  ago,  'The  zeal  of  the  Puritan,  the  faith  of 
the  Quaker,  a  century  of  colonial  health,  and  then  this 
large  civilization,  does  it  result  only  in  a  work-shop,  fops 
melted  in  baths  and  perfumes,  and  men  grimy  with  toil?' 
Such  will  certainly  be  the  issue,  if  as  a  nation,  we  do  not 
preserve  the  old  Puritan  integrity,  and  add  to  it  that 
Greek  enthusiasm  for  intellectual  culture  which  made 
puny  Attica,  with  Athens  for  a  capital,  for  two  thousand 
years  the  mistress  of  the  world  of  mind." 

The  trials  of  this  varied  work  but  whetted  his  zeal, 
still  they  abounded.  Kansas  educationally  had  not  much 
food  for  pride.  This  is  evidenced  by  the  following  an- 
swers, which  he  received  in  examining  candidates  for 
teachers'  positions. 

Q.     What  was  the  cause  of  the  War  of  1812? 

A.  The  suppressment  of  American  citizens  into  the 
English  navy,  or  the  Indians  beginning  to  molest  the 
whites, 

Q.     Who  settled  New  York? 

A.     The  Spanish. 

Q.     What  is  the  object  of  digestion. 

A.     To  impair  the  body. 

Q.     What  is  the  capital  of  Austria? 

A.     Venice. 

Q.     Why  is  it  colder  in  Labrador  than  in  England? 

A.     The  earth  turning  from  east  to  west. 


68  JOHN  HENRY   BARROWS 

Q.     What  is  a  diphthong?  / 

A.  A  continuation  of  three  letters  representing  only 
one  sound  as  "th"  in  "the." 

Q.  Who  are  eligible  to  the  offices  of  U.  S.  Representa- 
tive and  Senator? 

A.  Loyal  men  of  good  moral  character  that  have  the 
welfare  of  the  people  at  heart. 

Q.     Where  is  Crimea? 

A.     In  Sicily. 

Q.     Where  is  Yale? 

Answ^ers  various.  Yale  is  a  college  in  Hartford.  Yale 
is  a  city  in  New  England.  Yale  is  a  college  in  New 
Haven,  Massachusetts. 

Q.  What  are  the  principal  countries  around  the  Med- 
iterranean Sea? 

A.  The  United  States  of  Colombia,  Bogota,  and  Ven- 
ezuela. 

Q.     Where  is  Ireland? 

A.     In  the  northern  part  of  the  United  States. 

Q.  Given  the  difference  in  longitude  between  two 
places,  how  do  you  find  the  difference  in  time? 

A.  Multiply  by  fifteen,  for  the  sun  passes  over  fifteen 
degrees  in  one  minute  of  time.  (How  he  must  whiz  at 
that  rate!) 

Q.     What  are  the  different  religions  in  the  world  ? 

A.  The  Mohammedean,  the  Christian,  and  the  Prot- 
estant.    (A  reply  which  might  please  a  Catholic.) 

Q.     How  many  sounds  has  "O"? 

A.     Three,  as  in  "one,"  "done"  and  "boy." 

In  spite  of  disillusionments,  work  that  overtaxed  his 
strength,  and  a  run  of  typhoid  fever,  in  the  fall  of  '71, 
through  which  his  mother  and  sister  devotedly  nursed 
him,  he  found  Kansas  "so  full  of  a  number  of  things" 


LIFE  IN  KANSAS  69 

that  he  was  as  happy  as  proverbial  kings.  Indeed  through 
life,  he  seemed  to  glow  with  a  radiance  caught  somewhere 
behind  the  "flaming  ramparts  of  the  world,"  was  a  kind 
of  Balder  the  shining  of  his  eyes  undimmed  by  Hela's 
realm. 

He  writes:  "In  the  last  two  weeks  your  reporter  has 
ridden  through  two  hundred  miles  of  fertile  mud  in  Osage 
County,  and  has  seen  much  of  the  interior  life  of  our 
rapidly  growing  state.  For  two  weeks  he  has  'browsed' 
on  the  people,  and  found  good  fodder  everywhere. 
An  easterner,  with  his  head  full  of  the  Kansas  famine, 
may  perhaps  imagine  that  the  shadow  of  one  dark  year 
has  rested  on  the  whole  decade  since ;  but  if  said  'oriental' 
could  have  accompanied  this  itinerant  superintendent,  he 
would  have  been  as  much  surprised  as  Elijah  when  the 
angel  fed  him  under  the  juniper  tree.  He  would  have 
seen  the  fat  hens  flying  from  his  approach,  as  though  he 
were  a  Methodist  minister.  He  would  have  sat  down  to 
tables  that  groaned  as  tables  have  not  done  since  Dickens 
described  the  Christmas  dinner  of  Tiny  Tim,  and  he  would 
have  written  home  that  these  Kansas  matrons  know  how 
to  refresh  the  inner  man  as  perfectly  as  any  New  Eng- 
land woman  who  lives  within  sight  of  Mount  Tom.  We 
sat  down  to  a  wedding  dinner  on  the  banks  of  the  Marais 
des  Cygnes  that  would  have  tempted  even  the  lean,  ab- 
stemious proprietors  of  the  Commonwealth  from  their 
diet  of  bitter  herbs. 

"The  next  thing  after  good  living,  which  the  traveler 
in  Kansas  would  note,  is  the  wonderful  variety  of  ele- 
ments which  have  been  thrown  together  in  our  prairies. 
If  heterogeneity  is  the  index  of  civilization,  as  Spencer 
and  Guizot  and  Beecher  tell  us,  then  Kansas  is  already 
one  of  the  first  states  on  the  globe,  and  promises,  when 


70  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

these  multitudinous  factors  have  been  combined,  to  pro- 
duce results  that  shall  be  unique  and  surprising.  The 
opening  of  the  Government  lands  in  the  Sac  and  Fox  re- 
serve in  Osage  County  has  brought  to  us  a  population  as 
heterogeneous  as  can  be  found  in  America.  This  variety 
has  been  a  daily  spice  to  my  visitations  among  the  people. 
"I  eat  breakfast  with  a  brawny  Canadian,  visit  a  school 
taught  by  a  Frenchman  who  saw  Louis  Napoleon  re- 
viewing his  soldiers  before  the  coup  d'etat,  call  on  a  dis- 
trict director  who  speaks  the  dialect  of  Hans  Breitman, 
and  take  supper  with  a  Long  Island  Englishman  who 
says,  after  the  fashion  of  his  native  Warwickshire,  'not 
far  from  we.'  The  next  day  I  take  my  morning  meal 
with  a  Scotch  Irishman,  visit  a  school  taught  by  a  lady 
from  Alabam.a,  receive  a  call  from  a  district  officer  who 
was  once  a  Welsh  sea  captain,  and  is  still  a  Welshman, 
inquire  the  way  of  a  Dane,  and  losing  it,  soon  inquire 
again  of  a  Swede,  and  finally  sleep  with  a  New  York 
politician.  The  day  after  I  take  breakfast  with  a  'corn 
cracker,'  and  after  visiting  a  school  taught  by  a  lady  from 
California,  take  a  good  dinner  with  a  'Puke.'  In  the 
afternoon  I  am  directed  on  my  journey  by  that  rare  ani- 
mal, a  cross  between  a  Scotch  Highlander  and  a  Pennsyl- 
vania Dutchman,  and  find  supper  and  a  bed  at  the  cabin 
of  a  'Tooth-pick'  who  thinks  my  horse  too  small  to  'pack' 
me.  On  the  morrow  I  visit  a  log  school  house  where 
John  Smith,  Sambo,  and  Pamawathescuk  Batiste,  Cau- 
casian, African,  and  Indian  are  taught  on  the  same  rude 
benches,  to  read  of  Him,  who  'hath  made  of  one  blood 
all  nations  of  men.'  I  am  lucky  this  day  to  get  my  dinner 
at  the  house  of  a  Unitarian  Major.  It  becomes  suddenly 
cold  this  afternoon,  and  I  hurry  to  a  log  cabin  where  I 
am  generally  warmed  by  an  orthodox  Congregationalist. 


LIFE  IN  KANSAS 71 

In  the  evening  I  examine  an  ample  library  filled  with  the 
works  of  the  unbelievers,  and  my  host  discourses  to  me  of 
the  virtues  of  Thomas  Paine  and  the  revelations  of  An- 
drew Jackson  Davis.  On  the  morrow  I  join  in  family 
worship  with  a  large-hearted  Baptist  brother,  take  dinner 
with  a  Methodist,  and  eat  supper  with  a  Presbyterian  who 
broils  his  own  steak  to  perfection  and  is  an  artist  in  coffee. 
Thus  my  bigotry  is  worn  off  and  my  better  instincts 
gladly  testify  to  the  'oneness  of  humanity' ;  myself  a  Wen- 
dell Phillips  radical,  I  listen  undisturbed  to  a  defense  of 
slavery  by  a  fine-hearted  Kentucky  gentleman." 

Certainly  it  was  impressive  to  see  a  district  of  seven 
hundred  and  twenty  square  miles  turning  in  two  years 
from  the  hunting-ground  of  Sac  and  Fox  Indians  into  a 
region  of  fine  farms,  with  seven  thousand  five  hundred 
inhabitants,  several  growing  towns,  and  a  railroad.  He 
believed  with  Beecher  that  the  Christianity  of  our  day 
looks  to  the  bottom  as  well  as  to  the  top.  This  faith  lives 
in  the  following  quotations  from  the  introduction  written 
in  Arvonia,  to  his  lecture  on  Hugh  Miller:  "Neither 
king  nor  peasant  can  stay  the  swift  march  of  civilization 
from  the  castle  to  the  cottage,  from  the  monastery  to  the 
schoolhouse.  The  era  of  man  as  man  is  approaching. 
The  vast  weights  that  have  heretofore  held  down  the 
poor  are  being  lightened.  The  struggles  of  aspiring 
genius  in  the  face  of  social  obstacles  and  the  brave  cham- 
pionship of  the  cause  of  the  lowly,  have  in  our  day  nursed 
up  heroes  of  truer  valor  that  Agamemnon,  men  who  might 
have  sat  with  unabashed  eyes  amid  the  Knights  of  King 
Arthur's  table.  Democracy  is  impatient  of  forms.  It 
hungers  and  thirsts  after  realities.  Men  are  even  be- 
coming partial  to  merit  that  springs  from  unexpected 
sources.     Obscure  origin   does  not  necessarily  mark   the 


72  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

successful  genius  with  the  stigma  of  upstart.  Worth 
joined  to  modesty  conquers  the  admiration  even  of  Tory 
squires."  And  again:  "All  modern  knowledge  is  shod 
with  perpetual  unrest.  The  evolution  theory  now  ad- 
vanced is  destined  to  be  amended  by  fresh  discoveries. 
With  Agassiz  and  Huxley  in  your  hand,  Cuvier  is  no 
longer  a  text-book.  Books  become  antiquated ;  manhood, 
never.  Few  read  Dr.  Johnson  in  his  prose  or  rhyme,  but 
the  old  Tory  himself  is  as  real  to  us  as  our  next  door 
neighbors,  and  much  more  beloved.  Men  get  their  notion 
of  Calvin  not  from  the  'Institutes'  but  from  Dr.  Henry's 
Life  of  the  Genevan  reformer.  Lyman  Beecher's  career 
will  stir  laughter  and  draw  tears  when  his  published  ser- 
mons shall  keep  company  with  the  Latin  writers  of  the 
tenth  centur>'.  And  when  the  'Old  Red  Sandstone'  shall 
be  laid  away  with  the  Natural  History  of  Pliny  and  the 
Chemistry  of  Paracelsus,  eager  and  thoughtful  boys  will 
take  from  the  library  shelf  some  well-worn  volume  stand- 
ing with  Plutarch's  Lives  and  the  'Autobiography  of 
Franklin'  wherein  they  shall  read  with  quickened  pulses, 
how  a  humble  Scottish  lad,  poorer  than  themselves, 
chiselled  his  name  upon  the  heart  of  a  nation." 

In  after  years  he  used  to  advise  theological  students 
to  do  home  missionary  work  in  the  west  before  entering 
the  ministry. 


CHAPTER  V 

FROM   SPRINGFIELD  TO  PARIS   1872-1873 

He  spent  the  next  year  in  Springfield,  Illinois,  to  whose 
First  Congregational  Church  he  was  called  in  the  spring 
of  1872,  and  of  which  he  was  pastor — although  not  yet 
an  ordained  minister — until  the  summer  of  1873.  Two 
things  characterize  his  life  in  the  city  of  Lincoln — unusu- 
ally hard  work,  and  the  making  of  several  life-long  friend- 
ships. The  first  arose  largely  from  the  fact  that  hereto- 
fore he  had  written  very  few  sermons,  and  to  write  two 
a  week,  for  an  audience  that  called  forth  his  very  best, 
severely  taxed  his  strength.  Although  his  sister  spent  a 
few  months  with  him  in  the  fall,  for  most  of  the  time 
he  was  without  any  of  his  family,  a  new  experience  for 
him.  His  brother  Walter,  his  companion  in  Olivet,  New 
Haven,  New  York,  and  Kansas,  was  now  pastor  of  the 
Congregational  Church  in  Marshall,  Michigan,  thence 
to  go  in  turn  to  Andover  Theological  Seminary,  Salt  Lake 
City,  and  New  York,  so  that  their  paths  lay  far  apart  for 
many  years.  His  Springfield  friends,  therefore,  met  a 
real  need.  He  was  always  one  to  respond  quickly  to 
praise  and  affection ;  they  worked  on  him  as  sunshine  on 
the  flowers.  And  he  was  even  more  ready  to  give  than 
to  receive.  The  growing  audiences,  the  words  of  appre- 
ciation, the  loyal  support  of  the  church,  endeared  it 
warmly  to  him.  Among  his  friends  were  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Albert  Smith,  young  married  people,  who  did  much  for 
his  pleasure  and  comfort.  Mrs.  Smith,  better  known  as 
May  Riley  Smith,  author  of  the  poems  "Sometime,"  "De- 


74  JOHN  HENRY   BARROWS 

parture,"  "My  Uninvited  Guest,"  and  many  more,  writes 
her  memories  of  him  in  the  Springfield  days.  They  strik- 
ingly illustrate  the  singular  unity  of  his  life.  People 
thirty  years  later  received  identical  impressions. 

"If  I  were  asked  what  are  the  dominating  impressions 
I  have  retained  from  my  friend  President  John  Henry 
Barrows  as  I  first  knew  him  thirty  years  ago,  I  should 
say,  of  his  individuality  I  recall  his  lofty  sense  of  honor; 
of  his  mental  equipment  his  splendid  imagination ;  of  his 
nature  his  optimism;  of  his  personality  his  joj'ousness;  of 
his  religion  his  unfaltering  faith  in  the  Fatherhood  of 
God.  His  religion  kept  its  promise  to  his  soul  and  never 
disappointed  him.  Once  under  the  shadow  of  disappoint- 
ments common  to  all  lives  that  drink  from  many  foun- 
tains as  they  go  their  way  he  said,  'It  is  right,  it's  one  of 
the  lessons  I've  got  to  learn.  I  need  it.  God  will  make 
a  fine  fellow  of  me  yet!'  And  surely  those  who  knew 
him  and  traced  his  upward  way,  can  testify  how  few 
hindrances  to  this  end  he  put  in  the  way  of  the  great 
Moulder  of  Men,  and  with  what  obedience  and  zeal  he 
learned  his  'lessons'  in  the  great  school-room  of  life. 

"Looking  over  my  shoulder  to  the  time  thirty  years 
ago,  when  I  made  one  of  the  little  Congregational  Church 
over  which  Dr.  Barrows  presided  in  Springfield,  Illinois, 
I  find  myself  surprised  anew  at  the  vitality  he  infused 
into  that  little  band  of  worshipers,  in  a  somewhat  con- 
servative, old-fashioned  Capital  City.  The  weekly  meet- 
ing for  pra3^er  and  interchange  of  profitable  thought  grew 
under  his  leadership  to  be  sweet  and  profitable  hours,  with 
an  absence  of  the  stiffness  and  embarrassment  which  often 
pervade  these  gatherings,  and  they  were  anticipated  with 
real  pleasure  by  those  who  attended  them. 

"He  had  the  rare  gift  of  bringing  out  the  best  of  those 


FROM  SPRINGFIELD  TO  PARIS  75 


with  whom  he  came  in  contact: — a  gift  which  had  grown 
into  a  most  precious  power  when  he  left  us,  eminently 
fitting  him  for  his  relation  with  the  young  in  the  College 
which  so  loves  and  honors  him  today. 

"I  can  see  him  now  as  he  sat  among  us  at  the  Friday 
evening  meetings,  his  slender  figure  erect,  his  fine  head 
thrown  back,  and  his  almost  boyish  face  contrasting 
strangely  with  the  gray  heads  and  lined  faces  of  the  men 
who  came  to  be  taught  by  him,  his  light  waving  hair, 
through  which  it  was  a  habit  of  his  to  run  his  long  slim 
fingers,  tossed  back  from  his  fine  forehead,  and  those 
wonderful,  compelling  eyes  of  his  sweeping  the  group  and 
resting  upon  some  silent,  timid  man,  who  to  the  surprise 
of  himself  not  less  than  others,  was  so  encouraged  and  re- 
assured by  his  pastor's  belief  in  him  that  he  was  drawn 
to  speak  of  the  things  of  God  and  his  own  soul  with  a 
freedom  he  would  have  declared  impossible  to  his  native 
reserve.  To  such  an  one  this  was  a  relief  like  the  loosing 
of  bands,  and  we  know  how  inimical  to  growth  are  self- 
consciousness  and   timidity. 

"Dr.  Barrows  had  a  keen  scent  for  ability  of  every  sort, 
and  none  knew  better  than  he,  how  to  adapt  this  to  the 
good  of  the  church,  and  of  the  individual.  How  many 
hidden  accomplishments  he  discovered  and  made  profit- 
able in  some  direction!  How  many  peculiar  aptitudes 
he  fitted  into  the  right  channel!  What  a  quick  and 
appreciative  apprehension  was  his  of  the  especial  gifts  and 
graces  of  this  or  that  member  of  his  congregation!  He 
threw  out  his  searchlight  in  all  directions,  and  nothing 
eluded  him.  He  associated  intimately  with  his  people, 
and  w^as  their  friend  as  well  as  their  pastor,  a  most  unus- 
ual and  valuable  combination!  He  went  in  and  out  of 
the  homes  of  his  people  with  that  simplicity  and  natural 


76  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

courtesy  which  set  everyone  at  ease,  and  forbade  con- 
straint or  embarrassment.  If  there  was  little  bread  and  no 
meat  he  made  as  if  that  were  the  rule,  not  the  exception, 
and  his  humble  hostess  forgot  to  be  ashamed.  He  ac- 
cepted the  hospitality  of  rich  and  poor  with  equal  pleasure 
and  simplicity. 

"Happening  to  call  one  day  on  one  of  his  parishioners, 
and  a  dear  friend,  on  the  morning  she  had  moved  into 
a  new  house,  and  finding  her  without  a  servant  he  made 
himself  as  easily  at  home  in  her  kitchen  as  in  her  draw- 
ing-room, went  to  the  baker's  for  a  loaf  of  bread,  and 
while  he  helped  her  peel  the  radishes  and  hull  the  straw- 
berries he  had  brought  in  at  her  request,  he  and  his  host- 
ess discussed  Tasso's  'Jerusalem  Delivered'  which  they 
had  both  been  reading. 

"He  was  impulsive,  which  was  in  him  a  special  charm, 
because  the  secret  chambers  of  his  life  were  so  orderly  and 
well-appointed  that  when  a  door  was  blown  open  by  a 
sudden  gust  of  impulse  nothing  unkempt  was  revealed, 
only  that  which  was  pleasant  and  good. 

"I  never  knew  him  to  do  an  undignified  thing,  yet  I 
have  seen  him  do  that  which  many  another  could  not  do 
without  running  the  risk  of  being  considered  so.  He  had 
a  keen  sense  of  humor,  and  I  never  knew  anyone  that 
exhaled  such  an  atmosphere  of  joyousness,  of  gladness  in 
the  good  gift  of  life.  His  face  was  a  praise-offering  to 
God  for  what  he  was,  and  for  what  everyone  was  to  him, 
and  you  found  j^ourself  asking  God  to  forgive  you  for 
your  own  ingratitude!  His  capacity  for  enjoyment  was, 
delightful.  If  it  was  croquet  or  tennis  no  one  enjoyed 
it  quite  as  he  did;  and  the  abandon  with  which  he  flung 
his  mallet  into  a  patch  of  unmown  grass  adjoining  the 
lawn  and  himself  after  it  at  full-length  in  despair  be- 


FROM  SPRINGFIELD  TO  PARIS  77 

cause  he  had  failed  in  a  crucial  stroke  was  worth  going 
far  to  see ;  and  never  were  you  betrayed  into  wishing  he 
would  not  do  it.  You  only  broke  the  tenth  command- 
ment by  coveting  your  neighbor's  enthusiasm,  and  won- 
dered where  was  the  false  note  in  your  own  naturalness 
that  you  couldn't  do  it! 

"Perhaps  the  only  time  when  he  made  anyone  who 
came  to  him  ill  at  ease,  was  when  someone  repeated  to 
him  some  of  the  gossip  and  unkind  criticism  which  often 
crawl  their  contemptible  way  through  the  best  regulated 
church  circles.  At  such  times  his  face  forgot  its  genial 
smile,  and  grew  grave  to  sternness,  and  the  news-bearer 
was  made  to  feel  that  there  are  nobler  themes  for  broth- 
ers and  sister  in  a  church  to  pass  from  tongue  to  tongue 
than  the  lapses  of  their  fellows,  which  they  should  rather 
seek  to  hide  from  sight,  and  especially  was  it  prejudicial 
to  the  family  feeling  which  should  prevail  in  a  church. 
So  sincere  and  grieved  was  his  manner  that  he  rarely 
gave  offense,  but  the  offender  was  made  to  feel  whole- 
somely ashamed.  In  these  ways  he  cultivated  among  his 
people  a  bond  of  unity,  and  the  true  family  spirit,  without 
which  there  could  be  no  real  or  far-reaching  influence. 
He  continually  urged  them  to  cultivate  the  gift  of  con- 
versation upon  profitable  themes,  and  in  every  way  to 
uplift  their  ideals,  and  broaden  their  charities.  The 
fathers  of  the  church  found  themselves  if  not  impercepti- 
bly yet  willingly  being  led  by  this  young  ardent  guide 
into  richer,  fuller,  and  sweeter  meanings  of  the  old  stead- 
fast truth,  and  the  young  loved  him,  and  found  him 
then,  as  they  ever  have  since,  as  genial  as  a  comrade  as 
he  was  wise  as  a  guide. 

"But  who  that  knew  him  in  his  later  years  needs  to  be 
told   that  he  was  all  this  and  more  in  the  days  of  his 


78  JOHN   HENRY   BARROWS 

)outh,  for  he  was  then  but  twenty-five  years  old!  Such 
a  life  is  from  beginning  to  end  like  a  pure  stream  running 
through  the  land  from  which  the  multitude  drink  and  are 
refreshed  and  strengthened  as  they  go  on  their  way! 

"Many  have  spoken  of  this  prince  among  men  in  his 
many  and  varied  relations,  but  those  early  days  of  his 
ministry  were  touched  with  a  beautiful  freshness  and 
fervor  of  enthusiasm  in  ever}'  good  word  and  work,  which, 
as  I  open  this  door  into  a  very  dear  room  of  my  past, 
sweep  in  upon  me  like  a  strong,  sweet  wind,  loaded  with 
balsamic  odours,  and  'give  me  thoughts  too  deep  for 
tears.' 

"  'We  have  lost  him,  he  is  gone. 
We  know  him  now,  we  see  him  as  he  moved, 
How  modest,  kindly,  all-accomplished,  wise, 
With  w'hat  sublime  repression  of  himself, 
And  in  what  limits, — and  how  tenderly.'  " 

In  the  spring  of  1873,  his  health  was  so  poor  that  he 
resigned.  But  he  still  held  fast  his  purpose  of  more  study, 
now  made  possible.  Therefore,  the  21st  of  July,  in  com- 
pany with  Professor  Daniels,  his  old  friend,  he  set  sail 
on  the  Steamship  "Victoria,"  from  New  York  to  Glas- 
gow. 

He  writes,  "The  Atlantic  this  time  was  pacific."  Now% 
as  in  years  to  follow,  the  ocean  renewed  his  vigor.  Be- 
sides, he  possessed  that  unfair  advantage,  imagination. 
Hence,  we  learn  from  his  letters  of  daj-s  on  the  water 
that  shone  "far  down  the  memorj\"  "The  sea  is  inde- 
scribably grand  and  suggestive,  dark  and  azure,  yet  glisten- 
ing in  lanes  of  light,  here  and  there;  God's  great  volume 
bound  in  blue  and  gold."  And  afterwards,  to  one  home- 
ward bound,  "It  almost  makes  me  cry,  to  live  over  again 


FROM  SPRINGFIELD  TO  PARIS  79 

in  imagination  those  ten  days  on  the  Atlantic.  And  you 
have  seen  the  ever-varj'ing  main,  with  Greek,  poetic  eyes. 
You  have  sailed  with  the  smiling  ocean  and  laughed  with 
its  multitudinous  laughter.  The  'wine-colored  deep,'  did 
you  see  that?  Homer  talks  about  the  'hoary  deep,'  but 
there  is  one  epithet  of  his  that  moistens  my  eyes  as  I 
slowly  say  it,  'the  unharvested  sea.'  " 

In  spite  of  3'outh,  imagination,  and  a  head  crammed 
full  of  history  and  poetrj',  during  the  next  six  weeks, 
Edinburgh,  London,  Munich,  Vienna,  Geneva,  and  Paris 
did  not  hold  the  first  place  in  his  heart.  That  had  been 
speedily  taken  by  one  travelling  with  friends  in  the  same 
party,  Miss  Sarah  Eleanor  Mole.  She  was  from  Wil- 
liamstown,  Massachusetts,  home  of  her  mother  and  grand- 
mother before  her,  and  though  but  twenty-one  years  old, 
was  teaching  in  her  alma  mater,  the  Westfield  Normal 
School.  The  following  is  his  only  letter  to  her,  previous 
to  their  engagement.  It  contains  several  references  to 
Lowell's  "Cathedral,"  which  they  had  both  been  reading: 

Geneva,  Aug.  3rd,  1873. 

My  dear  Friend : 

I  rose  from  very  dreamful  sleep  this  morning  with  the 
praj'erful  hope  that  finally  "vous  etes  un  habitant" — 
never  mind  the  dislocated  syntax — You  know  what  I 
mean.  "In  Paris,"  said  the  good  Professor  pulling  out 
his  watch,  "Paris  is  France  and  France  is  the  world." 
It  is  comforting  to  me  to  believe  that  you  are  still  a 
terrestrial  being.  I  made  several  earnest  attempts  to  get 
another  look  at  you — after  we  said  good-bye — and  when 
the  train  moved  from  the  station  I  waved  my  hat  (the 
immortal,  "by  beauty's  franchise  disenthralled  of  time") 
with   pathetic  energ}'!     "Some  natural    tears   I   dropped, 


So JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS ^ 

but  wiped    them   soon."      (Of   course    the   weeping  was 
spiritual — not  visible.) 

Leaving  the  Professor  to  read  the  New  York  Times, 
I  went  over  to  Rousseau's  Isle,  where  I  met  a  negro  boy, 
a  West  Indian,  who  had  been  a  slave,  I  think.  You 
know  Rousseau  furnished  Jefferson  the  opening  sentences 
of  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  The  coincidence 
furnished  me  some  thoughts  which  I  have  sent  to  my 
dear  "paternal  sire."  Then  I — I — a  heretic,  an  alien 
from  rigorous  Calvinism — spent  an  hour  in  searching  for 
Calvin's  house.  I  knew  that  it  was  in  the  Rue  des  Cha- 
noines.  I  stepped  into  a  book-store  and  inquired  of  a  lady 
(in  English)  (please  connect  properly)  where  said  street 
was.  She  opened  a  drawer  and  offered  me  some  colored 
views  of  the  Valley  of  Chamouni !  Not  wishing  to 
walk  so  far  as  that  to  see  even  a  living  Calvin,  I  examined 
the  views  carefully,  said  "trop  cher,"  and  walked  sadly 
away.  My  dear  friend,  I  did  not  dare  undeceive  her.  I 
should  have  died  laughing,  and  then  I  should  never  see 
you  dressed  in  white,  with  that  wonderful  lace  collar  and 
the  matchless  watch-chain  to  add  to  the  bewildering  ef- 
fect! I  trust  that  my  dear  "happy  Goth"  will  not  lay 
it  up  against  me  that  I  left,  on  the  mind  of  a  Genevesc 
maiden,  the  impression  that  a  tall  youth  w^ith  a  white  hat 
desired  to  purchase  views  of  the  Vale  of  Chamouni.  I 
shall  not  be  entirely  restful  until  I  am  exculpated  by  you. 
I  found  the  Rue  des  Chanoines,  and  saw  Calvin's  house, 
and  went  away  rejoicing.  The  streets  that  lead  to  it  are 
as  dark  and  crooked  as  a  sermon  defending  the  dogma  of 
eternal  reprobation.  But  Calvin  was  a  heroic,  noble 
soul,  granitic,  it  is  true,  but  much  that  is  beautiful  in 
your  dear  Massachusetts,  blossoms  out  of  the  granite  soil 
of  Calvinism.     I  am  a  Calvinist,  please  remember,  I  don't 


FROM  SPRINGFIELD  TO  PARIS  8i 

believe  in  either  supra-  or  sub-lapsarianism,  but  I  am 
mighty  in  my  faith  in  foreordination!  (I  hope  this  dis- 
tinction will  not  remind  you  of  the  colored  preacher's 
declaration — that  some  were  hastening  to  everlasting 
damnation,  and  the  rest  to  eternal  perdition — which  pro- 
voked the  remark,  "Then  this  niggah  will  take  to  the 
woods.") 

After  visiting  the  English  Garden,  I  dragged  my  tired 
feet  to  the  supper-table,  where  I  made  a  frugal  and 
lonely  repast,  at  which  there  were  more  memories  than 
rolls,  and  more  of  the  bitterness  of  regret  than  of  the 
sweetness  of  honey.  Well,  I  didn't  care  to  weary  myself 
any  more,  so,  after  waiting  an  hour,  I  "sought  repose  on 
my  couch,"  or,  "went  to  bed." 

The  Professor  dreamed  that  he  was  climbing  a  moun- 
tain all  night.  I  had  "visions  out  of  other  5'ears"  mingled 
with  the  visions  of  recent  days — a  curiously  interwoven 
mesh.  I  was  glad  when  morning  came,  for  my  sleep  was 
not  the  best.  I  hope  your  blue  eyes  were  not  peering  out 
into  the  darkness  all  night.  My  advice  (pastoral)  to 
you  is  this,  "with  all  your  learning,  learn  to  sleep." 

I  have  returned  from  the  "College"  where  Pere  Hya- 
cinth preaches.  I  went  early  to  the  "College."  Pere  Hya- 
cinth entered  very  soon  after  I  arrived,  and  took  his  seat 
— in  the  audience.  He  was  in  citizen's  clothes,  and  I 
soon  realized  that  I  was  not  to  hear  his  "Voice  in  the  rich 
dawn  of  an  ampler  day."  There  were  scores  of  Ameri- 
cans there,  and  we  heard  an  eloquent,  gospel  sermon,  from 
a  young  priest.  The  text  was  "He  is  the  light  that  light- 
eth  every  man,"  etc.  Madame  Hyacinth  was  with  her 
husband,  and  knelt  with  him  to  partake  of  the  wafer. 
She  is  a  noble  woman  in  appearance.  I  asked  a  young 
man  if  Pere  Hyacinth  was  to  preach  to-day.     I  spoke  in 


82  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

French.  He  answered  in  perfect  English,  "Not  till  next 
Sunday."  I  was  soon  aware  that  I  had  spoken  to 
Madame  Hyacinth's  son.  We  lifted  our  hats  as  the  ex- 
Carmelite  Friar  and  his  wife  rode  off  in  their  carriage. 

I  hope  you  have  received  best  news.  I  shall  miss  you 
more  than  I  can  tell  you.  I  may  not  be  in  Paris  till 
Thursday.  Inquire  about  Chartres.  The  Lord  bless 
and  keep  you  evermore. 

In  great  haste, 

Your  faithful  friend, 

John  H.  Barrows. 

Years  afterward  he  dedicated  his  most  important  book 
to  her,  "The  bright  star  of  a  happy  Christian  home,  and 
the  crown  of  God's  best  earthly  gifts,"  his  "beloved  wife 
whose  kindly  and  far-seeing  wisdom,  unwearied  helpful- 
ness, and  unwavering  faith"  had  been  his  "constant  solace 
and  inspiration,"  and  to  all  who  knew  them  the  words  rang 
absolutely  true.  In  the  old  Arabian  tale,  the  silken  car- 
pet discovered  in  the  box  of  sandal  wood  bore  the  prince 
and  princess  aloft,  to  remain  awhile  far  from  the  gaze  of 
men.  We,  like  the  courtiers,  must  stay  below.  Yet  the 
Princess,  though  still  unseen,  will  often  walk  through  the 
coming  pages. 

But  let  us  return  to  his  rapid  journey  through  the  cap- 
itals of  Europe.  At  Vienna  he  visited  the  World's  Ex- 
position and  was  shocked  by  America's  small  showing. 
Farm  implements  seemed  to  be  about  her  only  supreme 
excellence;  a  gigantic  soda-water  fountain,  and  a  char- 
coal sketch  of  pork-packing  in  Cincinnati,  her  most  im- 
portant exhibits.  The  chief  minor  adventure  of  the  sum- 
mer occurred  on  the  Mer  de  Glace.  His  account  reads 
thus :  I 


FROM  SPRINGFIELD  TO  PARIS  83 

"Two  hours  this  side  of  Chamouni  is  the  Mer  de 
Glace,  the  great  glacier  of  Europe.  All  wanted  to  ex- 
plore it  on  foot.  All  were  tired,  but  after  much  con- 
sultation we  decided  to  send  the  guide  on  to  the  village 
with  our  coats  and  books,  and  we  would  meet  him  at  the 
hotel  d'Angleterre  in  the  evening.  We  said  we  would 
get  there  by  seven  or  seven-thirty  o'clock.  So,  grasping 
my  alpenstock,  I  followed  the  sturdy  Captain  in  the  as- 
cent toward  the  glacier.  In  a  half  hour  we  were  up 
where  we  could  see  the  glacier  well.  The  Captain  out- 
stripped us,  and  climbed  up  out  of  sight,  and  we  saw  him 
no  more.  The  way  to  Chamouni,  as  we  supposed,  was 
across  the  glacier.  The  Professor  was  anxious  to  cross. 
I  was,  too.  We  rested  and  amused  ourselves  by  tumbling 
rocks  down  and  seeing  them  bound  on  the  rocks  below. 
Finally  we  clambered  down  the  ice  below  us.  It  was 
seamed  into  great  ridges  by  the  heat.  As  we  advanced 
the  views  became  more  interesting  at  each  step.  Mighty 
stones  were  carried  on  the  points  of  great  slabs  that  had 
nearly  melted  away.  There  were  caves  that  we  did  not 
dare  to  enter,  as  the  superstructure  seemed  too  uncertain. 
It  was  "trickle,"  "trickle,"  everywhere.  The  stones 
beneath  us  were  uncertain.  I  was  refreshed  by  the  cool- 
ness; we  walked  between  mountains  of  ice  thirty  or  forty 
feet  above  the  ice  sea.  We  began  to  descend.  By  the  aid 
of  my  alpenstock  and  our  two  umbrellas  we  helped  each 
other  down  the  great  slippery  steps.  Things  became  very 
interesting  now.  We  saw  that  there  was  no  getting  back, 
and  our  safety  was  in  reaching  the  rocky  debris  beyond, 
and  thence  down  into  the  valley.  It  demanded  great  cau- 
tion of  us,  not  to  tumble  into  the  crevasses  and  great  holes 
which  the  heat  had  made  in  the  glacier.  After  an  hour's 
labor,  we  reached  the  southern  side  of  the  glacier,  and 


84  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

placed  our  feet  on  rocks  once  more!  The  view  here  was 
simply  glorious.  A  thousand  feet  below  us  tumbled  and 
rushed  the  Arveiron,  hurrying  through  the  vale.  Toward 
the  west  was  one  great  wall  of  the  valley,  over  whose  pine- 
clad  summits  streamed  the  lengthening  light.  Above  us 
was  the  glacier,  so  beautifully  blue  in  spots,  jagged,  lead- 
ing up,  up  to  the  northern  slopes  of  Mt.  Blanc.  After 
picking  a  few  flowers  near  the  eternal  frost,  we  hastened 
over  to  the  southern  slope  of  the  rock-strewn  hill  to  go 
down  into  the  vale.  But  to  our  horror  we  soon  discov- 
ered that  we  came  to  a  sheer  declivity,  down  which  there 
was  no  descent,  except  by  falling,  which  was  very  easy — 
but  not  desirable!  All  my  weariness  vanished  now.  I 
nerved  myself  for  some  desperate  work,  which  had  it  not 
been  for  that  grand  dinner  on  the  Col  de  Balme  I  never 
could  have  performed.  We  dared  not  undertake  to  climb 
back  the  ice  mountain.  The  descent  had  been  all  we 
could  make.  There  was  only  one  other  chance.  By  foi» 
lowing  the  glacier  itself  down,  or  by  clinging  to  the  rocks 
on  the  line  of  the  glacier's  edge,  there  was  a  possibility  of 
escape.  It  must  be  undertaken.  The  stones  slipped  be- 
neath our  feet  and  tumbled  far  below.  We  had  to  keep 
close  together  to  prevent  the  falling  rocks  from  smiting 
ourselves.  At  last  we  came  to  a  place  where  our  judg- 
ments differed.  The  Professor  wanted  to  go  to  the  gla- 
cier's edge  and  follow  it  down,  and  I  wanted  to  slide  over 
the  smooth  edge  of  the  rock,  scraped  in  the  years  so  that 
it  was  almost  like  a  waxed  floor  turned  up  on  an  angle  of 
forty-five  degrees.  Sticking  the  steel  edge  of  my  alpen- 
cane  into  the  glacier,  and  crouching  low,  I  began  my  de- 
scent, and  in  ten  minutes  was  by  the  glacier's  edge.  Sev- 
eral hundred  feet  lower,  I  waited  for  the  Professor.  As  I 
looked  back,  it  seemed  as  though  the  ice-mountains  were 


FROM  SPRINGFIELD  TO  PARIS  85 

about  to  fall  on  us.  I  was  nothing  in  the  hands  of  irre- 
sistible power.  Both  of  us  agree  that  the  view  here  was 
the  "grandest  sight  in  Europe."  The  Professor  looked 
very  small  on  the  cliffs  above.  He  could  find  no  way 
down,  so  he  went  back  to  where  I  had  found  my  slippery 
way  to  my  present  position.  We  said  but  little.  There 
was  little  hope  of  ever  getting  back,  and  all  was  uncer- 
tainty below  us,  with  growing  probabilities  that  we  could 
not  find  egress.  After  watching  the  magnificent  spectacle 
above  us,  with  some  silent  prayers  to  God,  and  many 
longing,  loving  thoughts  of  friends  over  the  Atlantic,  we 
cautiously  continued  our  downward  journey.  I  fell  often 
and  bruised  my  hands  on  the  jagged  rocks.  Our  boots 
were  white  with  dust  and  suffered  brutal  treatment  on 
the  sharp  stones.  Our  clothes  were  torn,  but  we  were 
yet  alive,  and  disposed  to  eat  supper  in  Cook's  Hotel  that 
night,  if  possible.  We  were  on  the  maghty  sloping  de- 
bris, within  a  few  feet  of  the  glacier.  Remember  that  we 
were  standing  not  only  on  precipitous  places,  but  that 
our  foothold  was  very  shaky.  A  slip  might  fling  us  down 
a  hundred  feet  and  smash  us  on  the  rocks,  or  hurl  us  into 
the  bed  of  the  little  ice-stream  at  the  edge  of  the  glacier, 
where  we  might  soon  have  been  tumbled  into  a  dark  ice- 
hole,  the  Lord  knows  how  deep.  We  didn't  want  to  ex- 
plore the  ice-wells  in  that  way.  If  we  slipped,  I  said,  and 
we  did  slip,  every  minute.  The  uncertainty  was  great. 
?vIoreover,  we  could  not  see  the  foot  of  the  glacier,  and 
were  not  sure  but  that  every  step  down  vras  a  step  away 
from  our  foothold  on  the  rocks  above,  and  another  step 
down  toward  destruction.  We  were  very  cautious  nov/. 
Down,  down  we  went,  as  slowly  as  possible.  At  last  I 
saw  what  seemed  to  be  the  dent  of  steel  on  a  stone. 
Somebody  had  been  there  from  below!     Now  we  could 


86 JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

see  the  great  ice-arch  from  which  the  Arveiron  flows  at 
the  foot  of  the  glacier.  The  last  fifteen  minutes  were  the 
most  dangerous  of  all,  but  finally,  bruised,  torn,  bleeding, 
we  stood  in  safety  at  the  foot  of  the  magnificent  monster, 
while  inexpressible  gratitude  filled  our  hearts ;  then,  turn- 
ing around  and  looking  up  to  the  south — O,  glory  incon- 
ceivable! there  was  the  sunset  spreading  its  golden  mantle 
over  the  broad  snow-fields  and  gray  peaks  of  Mt.  Blanc! 
It  was  God's  benediction !  An  hour  and  a  half  of  walk- 
ing brought  us  to  Chamouni  village.  We  had  been 
three  hours  on  the  Mer  de  Glace.  Daniels  said  he  would 
not  take  a  friend  over  that  track  again.  But  how  glad 
we  were  to  have  done  what  we  did.  We  had  seen  our 
glacier  thoroughly!  Our  guide  was  looking  for  us  anx- 
iously at  the  hotel.  Captain  Sanders  came  in  a  half  hour 
later.  We  flung  ourselves  on  our  beds,  completely  ex- 
hausted. After  a  short  rest,  we  had  a  refreshing  supper, 
and  slept  gloriously  that  night.  The  next  morning  we 
saw  the  sun  rise  in  all  his  glory  in  the  vale  of  Chamouni. 
Read  Coleridge  and  you  have  it  all." 

My  father  lived  from  August  until  January  at  27  Rue 
Caumartin,  Paris,  that  fascinating  city,  where,  to  para- 
phrase Victor  Hugo,  the  "canaille"  of  today  are  the  "peo- 
ple" of  tomorrow;  that  odd  city  where  in  those  days  a 
good  dinner  cost  less  than  a  letter  home.  French  read- 
ing in  the  morning  with  Madame  Portait,  French  con- 
versation in  the  afternoon  with  Professor  Noirit,  French 
plays  in  the  evening  at  the  Theatre  Frangais,  where  Ra- 
cine or  Moliere,  combined  with  the  great  actor  Got  to 
evoke  much  laughter;  these,  for  a  while,  were  his  chief 
interests.  But  soon  great  inroads  were  made  on  his  time 
for  the  French  classics.  Dr.  E.  W.  Hitchcock,  pastor 
of  the  American  Chapel,  in  the  rue  de  Berri,  desiring  to 


FROM  SPRINGFIELD  TO  PARIS  87 

attend  the  meetings  of  the  Evangelical  Alliance  in  New 
York,  asked  him  to  preach  in  his  absence.  It  was  for- 
tunate that  he  accepted,  for  hardly  had  he  assumed  his 
new  duties  when  Jay  Cooke,  the  banker  with  whom  he  had 
his  letter  of  credit,  failed.  The  fifty  francs  a  Sunday  and 
the  twenty-five  a  week,  secured  for  Latin  lessons  given  to 
an  American  boy,  tided  him  over  the  interval  before  assist- 
ance from  home  reached  him.  Into  the  work  of  preaching, 
teaching  a  Bible  class,  and  looking  out  for  American 
transients  he  entered  fervently.  Through  his  connection 
with  the  American  chapel  he  made  pleasant  acquaintances ; 
his  letters  make  mention  of  Doctors  Coe  and  Schaff, 
Colonel  Waring,  Ex-Governor  Hoffman  of  New  York, 
and  others,  besides  many  Americans  living  in  Paris,  so 
that  though  Professor  Daniels  and  Miss  Mole's  party  had 
left  him,  he  did  not  lack  for  comradeship.     He  writes: 

"This  is  Sunday  evening,  as  I  ought  to  have  said  some 
time  ago.  At  four  I  went  to  45  Avenue  de  la  Grande 
Armee,  and  heard  Reverend  M.  Bersier,  the  leading  Prot- 
estant minister  of  Paris.  His  text  from  glorious  old  David 
impressed  me:  'One  thing  have  I  asked  (dcmande)  of 
the  Lord,  and  that  will  I  seek  after,  to  see  the  beauty  of 
the  Lord  and  dwell  in  his  house  forever.'  Bersier  is  cer- 
tainly one  of  the  first  preachers  of  the  world.  He  has  the 
'look'  of  the  great  pulpit  orators — Beecher,  Hyacinth. 
John  Hall,  etc.,  a  full  strong  face,  a  robust  physique,  a 
brow  retreating  a  little,  but  still  high  and  ample,  eyes  of 
slumbering  fire,  a  voice  that  whispers  or  thunders  with 
equal  ease,  and  one  cannot  hear  him  a  half-hour  without 
discovering  in  the  man  that  combination  of  logic,  imag- 
ination, feeling,  goodness,  earnestness,  and  will  which, 
added  to  thorough  culture,  make  the  consummate  master 
of  speech.     I  have  given  this  short  description  of  Bersier, 


JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 


because  I  expect  to  hear  him  every  Sunday  and  shall  often 
refer  to  him.  The  hall  where  he  speaks  is  always 
crowded.  His  sermon  was  an  eloquent  defense  and  expo- 
sition of  prayer.  His  manner  is  graceful  but  without 
artifice,  earnest  but  without  rant.  I  followed  his  French 
sentences  with  more  comprehension  than  I  hoped  to  h^ve 
so  soon.     I  have  loved  to  pray  more  than  usual  of  late." 

"Mr  Stebbins  lives  in  what  the  French  call  a  Hotel. 
The  nobility  live  in  Hotels,  when  they  are  rich  enough. 
You  know  that  a  Hotel  is  not  a  Hotel,  but  a  very  private 
residence.  I  was  ushered  into  the  most  gorgeous  apart- 
ment that  I  have  seen  in  Paris.  Mrs.  Stebbins — a  tem- 
porary invalid — was  reclining  on  a  sofa,  wrapped  in  a 
'stunning'  white  robe,  and  as  she  took  my  hand  said,  'I  am 
so  glad  to  m.eet  you.  Your  praises  have  been  sounded  in 
my  ears  ever  since  I  returned.'  Now,  all  this  was  over- 
Vv'helming  to  a  young  man  who  was  conscious  that  his  coat 
needed  mending  in  at  least  three  places!  There  were 
present,  besides  Mr.  Stebbins's  family  of  four  nice  little 
children,  a  Mrs.  Morrell,  and  a  Miss  Gardiner,  Amer- 
ican artists  who  have  been  in  Paris  six  years.  They  told 
me  of  their  adventures  in  the  Commune.  They  lived  near 
the  Luxembourg  gardens,  and  had  their  house  tumbled 
about  their  ears  by  the  explosion  of  fift>'  thousand  pounds 
of  gunpowder  within  a  few  minutes'  walk  of  them.  Their 
bodies  were  wounded,  their  pictures  torn,  but  they  did 
not  hear  the  explosion.  People  beyond  Versailles  did! 
Mr.  Stebbins  is  an  art-critic.  He  has  money  and  leisure. 
He  took  us  through  his  collection.  Mrs.  Morrell  told 
me  that  it  is  the  finest  private  collection  in  Paris.  He 
directed  my  attention  especially  to  one  of  Horace  Ver- 
net's,  one  of  Gerome's  (Father  Joseph  and  Louis  XHI's 
Courtiers)  and  to  Bierstadt's  'Sunset  in  Yosemite,'  which 


FROM  SPRINGFIELD  TO  PARIS  89 

is  certainly  finer  than  his  great  Yosemite.  Mrs.  Steb- 
bins  is  very  winning  and  very  Frenchy.  She  told  me  that 
she  had  been  presented  at  the  courts  of  Berlin  and  St. 
James,  and  the  Tuileries  often,  when  Napoleon  was  in 
his  glory.  She  wants  a  king  back,  not  the  Comte  dc 
Chambord,  though. 

"The  dinner  was  something  memorable.  It  was  served 
by  liveried  fellows,  in  white  gloves.  Everything  was  to 
my  liking,  such  elegance,  such  rich  simplicity.  I  could 
not  but  be  at  ease  with  such  simply  polite  people.  Mrs. 
Stebbins  reclined  on  a  sofa  at  my  left,  in  oriental  fashion, 
and  sipped  her  iced  and  foaming  wine,  white  and  'honey- 
hearted,'  as  Homer  calls  it,  and  talked  about  church  af- 
fairs. She  and  her  husband  were  very  liberal  in  their 
ideas.  I  must  not  let  some  of  the  church  people  know 
that  I  went  to  the  theatre.  She  admired  it  extremely. 
Her  husband  said  this  was  bosh!  There  were  some  in 
the  church  who  didn't  want  solo  singing.  She  is  very 
fond  of  picnics,  and  when  Mr.  Hitchcock  returns  will 
take  us  to  Versailles,  etc.,  etc.  (All  this  is  genuine  tea- 
table  talk,  isn't  it?)  Mr.  Stebbins  changed  my  ideas  of 
Napoleon  HI.  He  was  not  so  bad.  I  never  shall  repeat 
my  awful  diatribe  again.  I  have  no  interest  in  clinging 
to  a  lie.  After  dinner  came  coffee,  up  stairs.  The  chil- 
dren's French  is  perfect.  There  is  one  little  girl,  who 
kissed  me  good  night  and  chatted  away  to  my  discourage- 
ment.    I  left  at  nine." 

"About  two  in  the  afternoon  I  began  my  stroll  toward 
the  'Chapelle  Evangelique  de  I'Etoile'  where  the  Protestant 
service  is  held.  First  I  called  at  the  hotel  and  found  there 
a  letter  from  the  Professor.  Taking  the  shady  side  of  the 
Boulevard  Haussman  (You  know  Louis  Napoleon's 
Minister  of  Public  Works)   I  walked  leisurely  along,  till 


go JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

I  came  to  the  monument  erected  by  Louis  XVIII  over 
the  graves  of  Louis  XVI  and  Marie  Antoinette.  Their 
bodies  were  removed  to  St.  Denis  in  1815.  But  here  for 
twenty-one  years  they  slept  in  their  bloody  shrouds.  I 
have  alwaj's  had  sympathy  with  the  hapless  queen,  though 
never  with  Burke's  famous  description  of  her,  for  that  is 
full  of  bad  merals.  But  I  can  never  forget  the  starving 
peasant  mothers  on  whose  misery  the  Louis  lived  in  the 
splendid  luxury  of  Versailles.  And  I  sometimes  think 
that  God  would  be  better  pleased  by  a  little  helpful  sym- 
pathy shown  to  the  poor  whom  we  always  have  with  us, 
than  with  sentimental  gushings  over  fallen  greatness.  To 
the  more  thoughtful  mind,  'The  queen  of  France  on  the 
scaffold,'  as  Charles  Sumner  once  said,  'is  a  less  touch- 
ing and  suggestive  spectacle  than  the  woman  on  the  auc- 
tion block.'  " 

"There  is  a  quiet  happiness  about  these  interesting 
Parisians  on  Sunday  holidays,  that,  if  very  earthy  in  its 
origin,  is  about  as  excusable  and  pleasant  as  surly  piety." 

"My  friend  Dr.  Wasson  called  last  evening.  He  is 
very  kind,  very  visionary,  very  changeable.  He  gave  me 
one  privilege  this  morning,  for  which  I  shall  ever  be 
thankful.  I  believe  you  have  never  read  any  of  Turge- 
neff's  novels.  The  high  critics  on  both  sides  of  the  water 
place  this  Russian  in  the  fore  ranks  of  modern  writers. 
His  'Father  and  Sons'  (translated  by  Mr.  Schuyler  of 
Yale  College,  now  at  St.  Petersburg)  made  a  great  sen- 
sation. Last  summer  I  read  his  'Smoke,'  a  tale  of  Baden 
Baden.  Well,  Dr.  Wasson  told  me  that  he  was  filling 
the  teeth  of  a  Russian  author  whom  he  admired  very 
much,  but  whose  name  he  had  forgotten.  I  suggested 
'Turgeneff.'  'That's  the  very  name,'  he  answered. 
Then  I  told  him  what  I  knew  of  the  Russian  celebrity, 


FROM  SPRINGFIELD  TO  PARIS  91 

and  he  asked  me  to  call  and  see  him  this  morning,  which 
I  did  at  eleven  o'clock,  and  the  result  was  a  most  delight- 
ful visit.  M.  TurgenefE  welcomed  me  with  the  cor- 
diality of  a  supreme  gentleman.  I  was  surprised  to  find 
him  a  large,  patriarchal-looking  man  of  sixty,  with  the 
manners  of  Wendell  Phillips  and  the  head  of  Phidias's 
Jupiter.  He  was  much  pleased  to  hear  about  his  friends 
over  the  water,  admires  America,  wants  to  visit  us,  knows 
Mr.  Schuyler,  etc.,  etc.  Walter,  who  admires  Turgeneff, 
will  throw  up  his  stovepipe  when  he  hears  of  my  good 
luck." 

"If  I  had  gone  to  the  hotel  at  once  I  should  have  missed 
a  call.  General  John  Eaton,  the  Commissioner  of  Edu- 
cation for  the  United  States,  came  to  see  me.  I  rode  with 
him  from  St.  Louis  to  Kansas  City  two  years  ago.  He 
is  examining  the  educational  institutions  of  Europe.  He 
talked  enthusiastically  for  an  hour,  especially  of  Italy,  and 
then  asked  me  if  I  knew  French  enough  to  interpret  for 
him  in  a  call  he  was  about  to  make  on  the  French  Min- 
ister of  Public  Instruction.  I  said  'No,'  but  told  him  of 
Professor  Hardy.  So  we  took  a  carriage  and  called  at 
Hardy's  rooms.  He  was  not  in ;  we  left  word  that  we 
should  be  back  in  an  hour  or  two.  General  Eaton  was 
hungry,  so  was  I.  He  wanted  me  to  take  him  where  he 
could  have  a  good  breakfast.  (All  at  Uncle  Sam's  ex- 
pense, you  know.)  So  we  drove  to  Durand's  and  had  a 
glorious  repast!  Then  we  returned  for  the  Professor, 
and  drove  together  to  the  minister's  office  (south  of  the 
Seine).  His  Excellency  was  not  in  Paris,  but  a  sub- 
official  received  the  General  with  great  courtesy,  and 
offered  him  the  entree  to  everything  in  Paris.  He  fur- 
nished us  tickets  to  see  the  new  Opera  House,  the  Gobe- 
lins, Sevres,  Sainte  Chapelle,  etc.,  etc.     Hardy  succeeded 


92  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

admirably.  Then  we  visited  the  School  of  Deaf-mutes, 
where  there  is  some  fine  chromo  lithographing  which  the 
children  had  done.  Then  we  visited  the  Pantheon,  and 
came  home.  The  General  is  to  be  here  with  his  carriage 
at  ten,  and  the  Professor  and  I  are  to  spend  the  day  with 
him  in  seeing  that  which  without  him  we  could  scarcely 
see  at  all." 

"My  last  letter  went  Wednesday.  That  day  General 
Eaton,  Professor  Hardy,  and  I  spent  together,  visiting  the 
American  Embassy,  the  Louvre,  and  the  Nouvel  Opera. 
We  spent  an  hour  in  examining  the  interior.  We  had 
tickets  from  the  Minister  of  Public  Instruction.  It  is 
the  most  wonderful  building  in  Paris.  The  stage  is  so 
built  that  all  the  large  scenes  can  be  dropped  right  down 
into  a  vast  space  below.  The  Emperor  has  a  magnificent 
waiting  room,  approached  by  a  private  stairway,  and 
opening  into  his  private  box.  In  76  the  Opera  House 
will  be  ready.  We  went  also  to  the  School  of  Roads 
and  Bridges,  where  we  saw  wonderful  models  in  civil 
engineering,  and  L'Ecole  des  Beaux  Arts,  the  most  com- 
plete in  the  world.  I  must  break  this  sentence  and  tell 
you  about  this  school.  There  are  nine  hundred  pupils  at- 
tending lectures  here.  All  the  collections  are  for  service. 
The  museums  are  students'  workshops.  Everything  is  for 
use.  The  vast  court  is  lined  and  filled  with  architectural 
specimens.  But  I  was  most  interested  in  a  room  where 
the  first  prizes — that  is,  the  paintings  which  secured  them 
— were  on  exhibition.  The  great  names  in  French  art 
since  17 10  appear  there.  The  inspirational  power  of  this 
room  on  the  artist  student  is  almost  incalculable.  We 
lingered  lovingly  in  Taine's  lecture-room.  It  is  a  perfect 
beauty — amphitheatrical  in  form.  The  wall  is  one  great 
painting,  representing  the  artists  of  all  ages. 


FROM  SPRINGFIELD  TO  PARIS  93 

"We  went  to  many  other  places  that  day.  In  the  even- 
ing, after  I  had  gone  to  bed,  the  General  called!  A 
white-robed  form  opened  the  door  to  his  repeated  knock- 
ings.  I  lay  down  and  he  sat  down  to  an  hour's  talk  about 
education  and  religion  in  France.  I  kept  gloriously 
awake  while  he  stayed.  He  is  a  fine  talker  and  a  splendid 
man." 

"My  opinions  are  myself — and  you  want  to  know 
them!  Well,  I  believe  in  the  Apostles'  Creed,  and  the 
Declaration  of  Independence.  I  have  a  strong  sympathy 
with  a  certain  sort  of  radicalism.  I  hate  cant  and  can't. 
I  believe  in  Greek  and  Latin — for  some  people.  I  be- 
lieve the  world  is  not  growing  daily  worse.  I  believe  in 
soap.  I  hate  drugs.  I  believe  in  good-nature  and  grit. 
I  believe  in  French  soups.  I  believe  in  Congregational 
singing.  I  believe  strongly  in  Normal  Schools,  and  in 
some  Normal  School  teachers.  I  believe  in  free  inquiry 
and  agitation.  I  believe  in  woman-kind.  I  have  some 
hope  for  man-kind.  I  believe  that  a  mule  is  better  than 
a  man  in  climbing  the  Col  de  Balme.  I  believe  that  'True 
poets  are  true  democrats.'  I  believe  in  Charles  Sumner 
— I  believe  much  less  in  Charles  Sumner's  wife.  I  be- 
lieve in  Henry  Ward  Beecher  and  Dean  Stanley  and 
George  MacDonald  and  F.  D.  Maurice  and  John  Milton 
and  Blaise  Pascal  and  Thomas  a  Kempis  and  old  Socrates 
and  the  Apostle  Paul  and  the  singer  David.  I  believe  that 
the  Sabbath  was  made  for  man,  and  that  you  did  right 
in  writing  me  September  twenty-seventh.  I  believe  in  the 
real — not  in  the  accidental  and  conventional.  I  believe  in 
double-soled  boots  for  Paris  streets,  and  in  rubbers  for 
Swiss  glaciers.  I  believe  in  children — though  my  faith 
varies  with  the  child.  I  believe  in  co-education  of  the 
sexes.     I  believe  in  the  American  eagle,  when  good  men 


94  JOH^^   HENRY  BARROWS 

hold  the  string.  I  believe  that  American  scholars  should 
take  more  interest  in  public  affairs.  I  believe  in  good 
prayer-meetings.  I  believe  in  Wheeler  &  Wilson  sewing- 
machines.  I  believe  that  Massachusetts  girls  should  learn 
to  swim.  I  believe  in  that  'inspired  bore'  William 
Wordsworth.  I  believe  in  ]\Iay  Riley  Smith  and  Charles 
F.  Gilson.  I  believe  that  the  kings  are  playing  a  losing 
game  in  this  world.  I  believe  in  thick  under-clothing,  and 
deep  plowing,  teachers'  institutes,  civil  service  reform, 
and  international  copyright,  penny-postage,  and  Worces- 
ter's Dictionaries.  I  believe  in  my  father  and  mother. 
I  believe  in  Sarah  Eleanor  Mole.  I  believe  that  love  is 
the  fulfilling  of  the  law.  I  believe  in  the  better  things 
to  come,  'The  far-off  divine  event,  toward  which  the  whole 
creation  moves.'  Now — I  have  emptied  my  head  of  my 
opinions.  A  bundle  of  opinions  is  not  a  man.  I  con- 
fess, though,  that  it  is  sometimes  pleasant  to  meet  people 
who  think  as  I  do." 

"Tuesday,  Nov.  4th,  I  attended  the  great  trial  of  Mar- 
shal Bazaine  at  the  Grand  Trianon,  in  the  Park  of  Ver- 
sailles. I  secured  admission  with  eighteen  hundred  others, 
saw  the  Marshals  of  France,  the  illustrious  accused,  the 
one  hundred  and  fifty  reporters  for  the  great  journals  of 
the  world,  the  President  of  the  Council  (son  of  Louis 
Philippe)  the  Due  d'  Aumale,  etc.  I  have  no  time  for 
descriptions. 

"Reverend  Mr.  McAU  (whom  I  met)  who  has  preach- 
ed to  thirty-five  thousand  in  Paris  during  the  last  year,  has 
sent  me  an  urgent  invitation  to  help  him.  I  may  speak 
next  Tuesday  evening  at  204  Rue  des  Faubourg  St.  An- 
toine.  That  will  be  something  worth  remembering.  To 
preach  Christ  among  the  Jacquerie  near  Madame  de 
Farge's  wine-shop !" 


FROM  SPRINGFIELD  TO  PARIS  95 

"I  mentioned  the  sad  news  about  the  Opera  House,  It 
is  a  complete  ruin.  One  thousand  artists,  mechanics,  etc., 
out  of  employment.  It  is  only  temporary,  however.  I 
went  to  see  the  fire  Thursday,  but  the  soldiers  kept  the 
crowds  two  blocks  from  the  scene  of  the  disaster.  Here 
is  an  interesting  article  from  the  Rappel.  La  cloche  qui 
avait  donne  le  signal  du  massacre  de  la  Saint  Bathelemy 
servait  a  V  opera;  elle  est  fondue  entierement.  This  bell 
played  in  the  opera  of  the  Huguenots. 

"Thursdaj^,  I  read  in  Taine's  Notes  sur  V  Angleterre. 
It  is  very  rich.  The  vocabulary  is  choice  and  recondite, 
and  sends  one  to  the  dictionary  continually.  His  descrip- 
tion of  London  weather  is  equal  to  Dickens's  and  not  so 
prolix.  He  says  'Nature  here  looks  like  a  bad  charcoal- 
sketch  over  whom  somebody  had  rubbed  his  sleeve!'  In 
the  evening  Mrs.  S.  read  to  me  from  Emile  Sylvestre'? 
'Le  Philosophe  sous  le  Toit,'  a  charming  book  after  the 
style  of  Marvel's  'Reveries  of  a  Bachelor.' 

"I  have  spent  several  hours  at  the  Louvre  since  my 
last,  mostly  among  the  ancient  sculptors.  The  Salle  d' 
Auguste  interested  me  greatly.  I  walked  meditatively 
through  this  splendid  chamber,  crowded  with  Roman 
Emperors,  and  looked  to  the  ceilings,  splendid  with  the 
brilliancy  of  modern  French  art,  and  saw  there  the  me- 
dallion of  the  late  'pinch-beck  Charlemagne;'  and  from 
this  hall,  that  unites  the  glories  of  distant  ages,  I  passed 
through  another  supported  by  eight  granite  pillars  from 
Charlem.agne's  church  at  Aix  la  Chapelle;  and  then,  with 
a  long  glance  at  the  Venus  de  Milo,  I  stepped  into  the 
great  chamber  of  Catherine  di  Medicis,  where  this  Italian 
Jezebel  held  her  revels, — where  Henry  IV  married  Mar- 
garet, where  his  own  body  was  laid  after  his  assassination, 
and  where  the  artist  who  sculptured  the  carj^atides  that 


96  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 


give  name  to  the  room,  was  shot  at  his  work  on  the 
bloody  night  of  St.  Bartholomew.  History  gets  crowded 
together  in  some  places,  doesn't  it?  The  French  love  to 
startle  by  contrasts.  Antithesis  is  the  genius  of  the 
Louvre,  as  of  Victor  Hugo's  poetry.  Who  but  a  French- 
man would  think  of  putting  side  by  side  the  statues  of 
Voltaire  and  Bossuet? 

"After  dinner  I  rode  out  to  Mt.  Parnasse  Cemetery, 
where  we  assisted  at  a  Catholic  funeral.  There  we  took 
the  Chemin  de  fer  de  Ceinture  for  the  St.  Lazar  station, 
but  carelessly  neglected  to  change  cars  at  the  right  place, 
and  were  taken  beyond  the  walls  of  the  city  out  towards 
Versailles.  We  descended  at  a  small  village  and  walked 
out  into  the  fields.  The  stillness  of  nature  was  like  a 
reinvigoration  from  God.  The  day  was  'perfect  from 
its  own  resource.'  He  had  tenderly  'filled  his  blue  urn 
with  fire.'  Paris  was  visible  only  in  her  loftiest  domes. 
God  was  everywhere.  The  peasantry  among  the  vine- 
yards attracted  us.  We  had  an  interesting  conversation 
with  one  old  man.  He  was  an  earnest  republican,  believed 
Bazaine  a  traitor,  had  taken  part  in  the  civil  war,  in- 
quired about  the  great  nation  beyond  the  western  sea. 
Working  with  his  'pioche'  among  the  vines,  he  was  not 
a  great  figure  on  this  round  world,  but  there  is  One  who 
looks  upon  the  old  peasant  with  a  pitiful  love  that  is  im- 
measurable, and  woe  be  to  the  human  governments  that 
despise  and  ill-use  God's  poor. 

"Friday  we  entered  two  French  law  courts  and  were 
very  much  interested.  In  every  chamber  of  justice  that 
I  have  seen  in  France  there  is  but  one  picture,  viz.,  that 
of  the  Crucifixion,  placed  back  of  the  judge.  I  cannot 
see  the  propriety  of  this,  unless  the  spectacle  of  the  great 


FROM  SPRINGFIELD  TO  PARIS 


judicial  crime  of  the  ages  warns  from  following  Pilate 
and  Caiaphas." 

"Wednesday  morning.  Comment  allez-vousf  I  am 
myself  again.  Last  evening  I  went  with  Mrs.  Taylor  and 
Willie  to  the  Vaudeville,  to  hear  the  great  caricature 
of  American  manners,  called  'L'Oncle  Sam,'  which  is 
m.aking  all  Paris  laugh.  The  Americans  enjoy  it  most, 
though  it  is  basely  slanderous.  The  ladies'  toilettes 
are  killingly  extravagant.  A  French  Marquis  is  the 
hero.  You  would  have  died  to  see  how  the  girls  shook 
his  hands  and  kissed  him.  Nearly  all  the  women 
had  been  divorced.  One  'Monsieur  le  Reverend,'  who 
sm.okes  and  drinks,  appears  with  his  spiritual  wife!  One 
colonel  introduces  a  lady  to  the  Marquis  as  his  'first  wife!' 
The  scenes  are  in  the  Fifth  Avenue  Hotel,  and  on  a 
gorgeous  steamboat  of  the  Sound  or  the  Hudson.  Irish- 
men and  firemen  and  shoddy  millionaires  are  the  repre- 
sentative Americans!  We  had  a  box  with  a  Russian 
Baron  and  Baroness,  whom  Mrs.  Taylor  met  coming  from 
Nice.  The  Russian  lady  was  very  charming,  and  spoke 
beautiful  English.  The  Baron  and  I  talked  French  all  the 
evening.     Would  that  I  talked  half  as  well  as  he." 

"Dec.  4.  I  took  dinner  with  Air.  Hitchcock.  We 
talked  of  little  but  the  disaster,  the  sinking  of  the  Ville 
de  Havre.  I  heard  about  a  queer  Frenchman  in  London 
who  said  that  if  the  Thames  were  only  the  Seine  he  would 
drown  himself!  Miss  H.  would  say  the  man  was  nearly 
insane  and  wanted  to  be  so  entirely!  This  day  I  moved 
(fourth  time)  to  the  south  side  of  this  blessed  Paris  house. 
O,  you  ought  to  have  heard  Mr.  R.  talk  French  last  night, 
on  leaving.  He  said  to  the  proprietor,  'Prenez  garde  de 
ma  fiUe!'    He  means,  'Take  good  care  of  Mrs.  S!' 

"Friday,  Dec.  5.     A  cold  foggy  day.     I  went  to  Mr. 


JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 


Washburne's  and  secured  a  ticket  for  the  French  Assem- 
bly. One  of  the  Parisian  officials  kindly  lent  him  an- 
other, which  he  gave  to  me.  So  I  took  Mrs.  S.  and  went 
to  Versailles,  buying  tickets  for  the  round  trip.  We  took 
breakfast  beneath  the  shadow  of  the  chateau  (it  was  all 
shadow), — then  wandered  through  the  great  galleries, 
visiting  the  magnificent  room  where  King  William  was 
crowned  Emperor  of  Germany,  in  January  1871.  At  a 
little  past  two  we  entered  the  theatre  of  Louis  XIV, 
and  were  admitted  to  the  first  gallery,  and  to  the  box 
where  Lord  Lyons,  the  English  Ambassador,  watches  the 
French  Assembly.  It  was  a  very  interesting  afternoon. 
We  saw  everything.  We  sat  right  in  front  of  the  Pres- 
ident of  the  Assembly.  The  Deputies  sit  according  to 
political  affiliations,  as  you  know.  The  left-centre  were 
right  in  front  of  us.  The  extreme  left  (radical  Repub- 
licans) were  at  our  right.  You  see  why — they  are  on  the 
left  of  the  President.  Before  the  President's  stand  is  the 
Tribune,  from  which  all  the  speeches  are  made.  The 
debate  was  on  the  State  of  Siege.  Most  of  France  is 
under  martial  law.  This  was  necessary  at  the  close  of 
the  war.  It  is  continued  to-day,  for  political  purposes. 
It  is  a  sore  task  for  a  man  to  speak  in  this  noisy  body. 
The  interruptions,  insults,  taunts,  hisses,  cat-calls,  war- 
whoops  are  constant.  All  acted  like  college  boys.  We 
saw  a  few  notables,  Jules  Favre,  who  treated  with  Bis- 
marck, and  was  President  of  the  Government  of  National 
Defense,  Jules  Simon,  one  of  the  ablest  French  states- 
men. Ex-minister  of  Public  Instruction.  We  heard  Louis 
Blanc,  the  great  socialist.  He  is  almost  ridiculously 
petit.  We  were  back  at  six.  I  took  a  cab  to  186  Boule- 
vard Haussman,  and  dined  with  Professor  Hardy  and  his 
wife  and  son.    Hardy  is  a  splendid  fellow.    See  his  article 


FROM  SPRINGFIELD  TO  PARIS  99 

on  French  politics  in  the  Boston  Advertiser.  On  Satur- 
day, I  took  my  new  coat  and  waistcoat  from  John 
Hendry's,  my  tailor's.  I  have  been  economical  in  clothes 
while  in  Europe,  w^earing  some  of  the  garments  that  you 
saw.  I  could  say  of  myself  as  a  Frenchman  said  in  a 
restaurant  the  other  day,  'Je  suis  victime  de  courants 
d'air!'" 


CHAPTER  VI 
1873-1874 

SIX  MONTHS  OF  TRAVEL 

So  extended  a  tour  as  my  father  now  made  was  more 
uncommon  in  1874  than  it  is  to-day.  From  his  letters 
we  ascertain  that  painting  was  not  his  principal  inter- 
est. Of  architecture  and  sculpture  he  writes  more  at 
length,  but  it  is  the  historical  and  religious  elements  of 
He  shall  speak  for  himself. 

"In  the  early  morning  of  December  eighteenth  we  had  a 
good  breakfast,  and  soon  were  in  the  Mt.  Cenis  Tunnel. 
As  we  came  out  of  it  the  sun  made  rosy  the  white  peaks  of 
the  Alps,  and  the  mist  was  all  gone,  and  a  blue  sky  as 
lovely  as  anything  in  dreams,  broke  upon  us,  and  our 
new  world  began.  The  approach  to  the  tunnel  on  the 
Italian  side  is  a  marvel  of  engineering.  There  are  fre- 
quent openings  in  the  solid  rock,  giving  us  a  momentary 
outlook  upon  some  valley  and  snowy  mountain-side,  and 
then  all  is  dark  again.  A  picture  of  our  glimpses  into 
the  other  world.  It  is  there,  in  more  than  Italian  beauty, 
even  though  we  never  see  it  long." 

"MiLANO,  Friday  Eve.,  Dec.  19,  1873. 
"A  golden  day.  O,  the  Cathedral  is  beyond  all  fancies. 
I  have  explored  it  in  every  way,  and  thanked  God  for 
this  most  precious  jewel  in  the  crown  of  northern  Italy. 
I  felt  proud  that  'men,  my  brothers'  had  accomplished 
so  much.    It  is  no  slight  thing  to  see  a  church  which  has 


SIX  MONTHS  OF  TRAVEL  loi 

five  thousand  statues,  an  art  gallery  in  the  sunlight. 
Stand  here  and  look  up.  Those  saints  poised  so  firmly 
and  looking  so  cheerful  on  those  white  pinnacles,  that 
mount  up  so  boldly  and  stand  out  so  clearly  against  the 
blue  sky,  seem  the  avant-couriers  of  humanity,  announc- 
ing to  the  heavena  that  we  shall  all  yet  come  up  into 
the  measure  of  the  stature  of  the  fullness  of  Christ.  Then 
the  glory  within!  The  view  is  unobstructed  by  the  airy 
colum.ns.  Such  spaces!  Such  splendor  of  sunlight!  If 
this  is  Gothic,  I  am  the  proudest  of  happy  Goths.  But 
the  roof!  We  walked  through  a  marble  forest.  New 
surprises  at  every  step.  And  then  up,  up,  up,  three  hun- 
dred and  forty  feet,  till  we  saw  all  the  wilderness  of 
beauty  beneath  us,  a  flower-garden  and  fruit-garden  of 
stone.  What  but  silence  befits  my  reverent  thought  of 
this  marble  miracle,  and  yet  I  must  essay  the  weakness 
of  words.  The  bliss  of  solitude  will  henceforth  be  en- 
hanced by  a  vision  that  divided  my  heart  between  delight 
and  amazement." 

"Venice,  Dec.  20.  The  Doges  would  rattle  their  old 
bones  to  see  our  iron-courser,  mightier  than  the  horses 
of  St.  Mark.  The  city  was  scarcely  visible  from  the  car, 
I  only  knew  that  Venice  was  near.  We  stopped  at  last, 
and  found  ourselves  in  a  modern  railway  station,  not 
noticeably  different  from  one  in  Springfield  or  Chicago. 
The  old  things  followed  us  still,  and  we  were  seeking 
a  city  of  romance — wait.  We  descended  the  granite 
steps  and  for  the  first  time  in  our  lives  sat  down  on  the 
black  cushions  of  a  hearse-like  boat,  with  a  tall  and  grace- 
ful prow,  at  either  end  of  which  a  Venetian  oars-man 
makes  his  meager  living  by  paddling  another  man's  canoe. 

"^Later,  I  stand  in  the  center  of  the  Piazza  San  Marco. 
It  is  two  o'clock.     That  brass  Vulcan  from   the  clock- 


JOHN   HENRY   BARROWS 


tower  on  the  left  strikes  the  signal  bell,  as  he  did  four 
years  after  Columbus  discovered  America.  A  score  of 
other  bells  tell  the  same  story.  The  pigeons,  sacred  birds 
of  the  citj^  know  the  hour,  and  from  a  hundred  perches  on 
palace  and  cathedral,  they  fly  down  to  the  pavements  to 
be  fed.  They  pick  the  food  from  that  boy's  hand.  The 
scene  is  as  lovely  and  domestic  as  possible,  and  it  carries 
the  mind  back  to  the  thirteenth  century,  when  the  Vene- 
tian Admiral,  besieging  Candia,  received  from  Venice  on 
the  'wings  of  the  doves'  news  which  gave  him  victor)',  and 
the  grateful  cit>'  remembers  these  pigeons,  or  rather,  their 
descendants,  as  Berne  remembers  the  bears!" 

"Dec.  28.  Again  this  date  of  Rome — 'the  most  solemn 
and  interesting  that  my  hand  can  ever  write.'  So  wrote 
our  dear  Dr.  Arnold,  thirt}--three  years  ago.  The  Pan- 
theon is  truly  the  historic  building  of  the  world,  and  still 
so  beautiful  within.  It  has  majestic  simplicity,  producing 
one  undivided  impression  on  the  imagination,  not  requir- 
ing, like  St.  Peter's,  a  repeated  or  prolonged  contempla- 
tion, not  overwhelming  you  with  its  magnificence,  not  call- 
ing your  mind  out  into  diverse  fancies,  but  filling  you  with 
'one  sweetly  solemn  thought'  of  the  majesty  of  man  as 
he  reaches  upward  toward  God.  St.  Peter's  is  'the  Pan- 
theon in  air,'  yes,  but  with  all  modern  art  and  civilization 
placed  beneath  it  as  a  pedestal.  St.  Peter's  is  a  colossal  and 
multiplex  thing.  Its  beauty  (for  nothing  can  be  more 
truly  beautiful  as  a  whole)  is  gigantesque  and  many- 
sided.  The  Pantheon  is  'simple,  erect,  austere,  sublime.' 
St.  Peter's  is  a  harmony.  The  Pantheon  is  a  melody. 
The  former  overwhelms  you  in  some  moods.  The  latter 
causes  a  delicious  tremble  in  your  heart,  in  any  mood. 

"This  morning  I  escaped  all  companionship  by  early 
rising,  and  hurried  off  to  the  Pantheon,  with  my  sermon. 


SIX  MONTHS  OF  TRAVEL  103 

The  great  blue  eye  of  the  glorious  dome  shone  down 
kindly  on  me.  I  studied  what  I  had  written  about  'Oui 
Father'  in  the  temple  where  all  gods  but  'Our  Father' 
had  been  worshipped.  A  little  boy  and  I  were  for  a  time 
the  sole  occupants  of  this  'home  of  art  and  piety.'  I  sat 
by  Raphael's  grave,  and  imagined  the  old  Roman  em- 
perors stalking  in  the  door  as  all  of  them  had  often  done. 
After  reviewing  my  sermon,  and  musing  away  a  little 
time  very  profitably,  I  went  to  the  Church  of  St.  Mary 
on  the  Capitoline,  where  the  miraculous  Bambino  is  ex- 
hibited during  the  twelve  days  of  Christmas.  This  doll, 
covered  with  costliest  jewels,  reposes  in  a  manger,  and 
all  the  scenery  of  the  incarnation  at  Bethlehem  (including 
the  angels)  is  exhibited  after  the  style  of  Madame  Tus- 
saud  in  London!  The  sight  is  simply  disgusting.  The 
superstition  suffocates  you.  I  strolled  to  the  other  side 
of  the  hill.  The  Tarpeian  Rock  'where  Rome  embraced 
her  heroes'  and  flung  over  her  traitors,  has  been  almost 
leveled.  It  is  still  high  enough  to  insure  death  to  one 
who  should  be  pushed  over  it.  I  remembered  Donatello 
and  the  model.  I  was  at  the  American  Church  by  eleven. 
A  very  large  audience.  Mr.  Waite  is  a  capital  fellow,  a 
worthy  minister  of  the  new  era  in  Rome.  I  am  glad  to 
have  had  the  privilege  of  preaching  Christ  in  the  city 
where  Paul  was  murdered,  and  where  Luther  caught  a 
vision  of  the  second  Babylon." 

"Dec.  31.  Roman  streets  are  not  interesting.  The 
boasted  Corso  is  not  forty  feet  wide.  Those  balconies 
on  each  story  tell  you  where  you  are.  The  carnival  days 
are  not  yet  past,  though  their  glory  is  dimmed  year  by 
year.  Notice  that  hand-cart  with  a  stalwart  Italian  pull- 
ing at  it.  See  on  it  those  letters,  S.  P.  Q.  R.  ('Senatus 
populusque  Romanus.')  I  was  startled  at  the  first  behold- 


104  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

ing.  The  letters  which  Rome  carried  on  her  victorious 
standards  from  the  Baltic  to  the  Nile,  are  now  painted  on 
a  scavenger's  cart! 

"Beggars  besought  our  pity  at  the  Vatican  gate.  The 
tides  of  Italian  mendicancy  are  not  to  be  kept  back  by 
palaces.  We  hadn't  any  permesso  to  enter  the  Vatican, 
but  we  entered  and  told  an  obliging  fellow  to  secure  per- 
mission by  the  time  we  came  out!  The  gates  of  heaven 
turn  on  golden  hinges,  those  of  Rome  on  copper." 

"This  evening  a  large  party  of  us  went  to  the  Colos- 
seum. The  air  was  clear  in  the  light  of  a  moon  nearly 
full.  There  were  soldiers  about  and  within  the  grand 
old  ruin.  I  went  at  once  to  the  cross  in  the  center  of  the 
great  arena  where  the  early  followers  of  the  cross  were 
butchered.  I  seemed  in  the  heart  of  a  mountain  valley. 
The  outer  wall  looked  vastly  remote.  The  moon  flooded 
us  with  her  silver  waves,  and  the  stars  shone  through 
the  rents  of  ruin  as  when  Byron  was  here.  There  are 
little  chapels  all  around  the  inner  wall,  and  also  a 
Capuchin  monk's  pulpit,  which  I  mounted.  It  was  very 
hard  to  actualize  the'  awful  past  to  the  imagination.  The 
gladiators  who  fought,  the  wild  beasts  who  tore,  the 
martyrs  who  prayed,  the  emperors  who  laughed  or  wept 
at  the  bloody  spectacles,  the  eighty  thousand  brutalized 
spectators,  seemed  creations  of  the  historian's  fancy.  The 
scene  before  us  was  too  beautiful.  In  the  sunlight  you 
may  believe  history.  We  ascended  the  stairw^ays  to  the 
third  story  of  this  colossal  ruin.  I  had  been  up  before, 
but  our  guide,  with  his  great  flambeau  illuminating  the 
vast,  vaulted  passages,  gave  a  weirdness  to  the  scene  that 
was  lacking  before.  The  ages  have  plundered  its  mar- 
bles, and  stolen  the  iron  clamps  between  its  blocks,  and 


SIX  MONTHS  OF  TRAVEL  105 

built  great  churches  from  its  walls,  but  its  grandeur  is 
scarcely  impaired." 

"To-day,  January  ist,  we  saw  the  stone  pillar  to  which 
Paul  was  chained.  'But  the  Word  is  not  bound,'  and  the 
hero-apostle  is  no  longer  bound,  but  rules  in  all  the  earth. 
From  this  vile  cell,  his  body  was  carried  to  glut  the  sham- 
bles of  his  imperial  butcher,  and  from  his  departing  spirit 
there  went  out  an  influence  which  has  been  the  inspira- 
tion  of  Christian   lives   for  eighteen   centuries. 

"We  passed  over  the  modern  road  once  more  and  re- 
viewed the  Forum.  At  times  a  sense  of  the  awful  past 
comes  over  me  with  almost  depressing  force.  Day  by  day, 
with  increasing  knowledge  and  familiarity,  Rome  appears 
to  me  more  and  more  the  image  as  well  as  mistress  of  the 
world.  We  looked  around  once  more  before  climbing 
the  Capitol.  The  Temple  of  Concord  was  the  scene  of 
Cicero's  magnificent  indictment  of  Catiline.  From  those 
few  remaining  stones,  I  almost  imagine  that  a  voice  has 
gone  out  through  all  the  world!  How  the  vision  to-day 
is  linked  with  the  memory  of  a  little  study-room  and  a 
little  recitation-room  far  off  in  the  heart  of  an  American 
forest ! 

"I  have  seen,  too,  Michael  Angelo's  Moses,  It  is  in  the 
Church  of  St.  Peter  in  Vinculis,  where  the  apostle's  chains 
are  kept.  It  was  to  be  a  part  of  the  tomb  of  Julius  II, 
and  is  now, — only  it  over-shadows  everj'thing  else,  and 
makes  the  statue  of  the  pope  himself  look  very  mean. 
Truly,  I  know  nothing  so  commanding,  so  imperial,  so 
prophet-like,  as  this  sublime  work.  Nothing  in  the  Vat- 
ican is  so  profoundly  impressive. 

"A  weak-eyed  priest  showed  us  about.  'Do  you  like 
the  King?'  'By  force,'  was  the  reply.  Is  the  mighty 
church  falling?" 


io6  JOHN  HENRY   BARROWS 

"Thursday,  Jan.  8th.  The  whole  morning  was  given 
to  St.  Peter's,  my  fifth  visit.  Nobody  has  a  right  to  pro- 
nounce on  the  World's  Cathedral  until  he  knows  it  after 
long  study  and  repeated  visits.  I  am  conscious  now  of  its 
defects.  The  fagade,  which  hides  so  much  of  the  dome, 
the  change  from  Michael  Angelo's  plan  of  a  Greek  cross 
to  the  Latin  cross,  the  ugly  statue  of  St.  Peter,  the  pure 
cheerful  light  which  pours  through  the  unpainted  win- 
dows, thereby  depriving  us  of  illusions,  the  many  monu- 
ments to  bad  popes,  the  almost  deification  of  one  Galilean 
fisherman,  whose  work  was  so  inferior  to  Paul's — all  of 
these  things  must  be  taken  into  consideration  in  judging 
of  the  world's  greatest  temple.  But  you  give  yourself 
up  to  the  glory  of  the  interior,  and  it  is  not  hard  to  for- 
get, but  hard  to  remember,  what  I  have  just  mentioned. 
The  ever  genial  summer  air,  the  mighty  acres  of  marble 
pavement,  the  sculptured  pilasters,  the  magnificence  of  the 
chapels,  the  sublime  canopy  beneath  the  dome,  rising  a 
hundred  feet,  though  seemingly  far  lower,  the  endless 
riches  which  never  tire  and  always  startle  you  by  new 
disclosures,  the  long  cataracts  of  sunlight  that  dash  down 
through  the  consecrated  spaces,  and  above  all  that  sculp- 
tured epic  poem,  that  splendid  garden  of  mosaics,  that  mi- 
raculous thought  of  Michael  Angelo,  blossomed  out  into 
everlasting  azure  and  purple  and  gold,  from  which  all  holy 
apostles  and  saints  look  down  with  benediction  on  your 
radiant  up-turned  face,  the  great,  central  dome,  buttressed 
by  pillars  each  as  large  as  a  village  church  of  New  Eng- 
land. All  these  things  together,  when  God  gives  you  soul 
and  mind  enough  to  know  them,  make  St.  Peter's  the  one 
church  of  all  the  ages." 

Years  later,   in   his  sermon  on  Spiritual  Worship,  he 


SIX  MONTHS  OF  TRAVEL  107 

described  the  interior  of  St.  Peter's,  in  which  his  mind 
loved  to  linger. 

"You    enter    the    great   vestibule    of    St.    Peter's    and 
push  aside  the  heavy  curtain  and  slowly  absorb  the  sug- 
gestions of  a  scene  which  sometimes  dwarfs  and  dims  the 
spaciousness  and   splendor  of  the  outer  universe.     You 
walk  the  consecrated  pavements  where  armies  might  move 
with  freedom.     There  is  no  oppressiveness  in  this  grand- 
eur, no  gloom  in  this  solemnity.     The  cheerful  light  falls 
tenderly  through  the  ever-balmy  air,  on  marble  and  mo- 
saic,  on   bronze   and   gold.     With  exultation   you   move 
toward  the  central  shrine  of  St.  Peter.     Everything  mag- 
nifies as  you  approach.    The  pilasters  expand  into  pillars, 
which  seem  mighty  enough  to  uphold  the  crystal  arches 
of  the  heavens.     Slowly  the  majestic  dome  opens  to  your 
vision.     Its  vastness  seems  lovingly  to  enclose  and  shelter 
your  greatest  thought  of  God.     But  while  your  heart  is 
thus  opened  by  the  sensuous  imagination,  the  divine  Spirit 
finds  his  home  not  amid  those  luminous  spaces,  but  in 
the  worshipper's  soul.     Here  is  love  which  interprets  love 
and  renders  praises  which  are  more  acceptable  than  the 
adornments  of  the  world's  cathedral.     The  architecture 
of  man  is  the  plaything  of  time.    And  the  moment  shall 
come  when  the  golden  lamps  about  St.  Peter's  tomb  shall 
be  extinguished  and  the  miracle  of  Michael  Angelo  shall 
mingle  in  the  dust  of  ancient  Rome;  but  the  architecture 
of  God  abides.    'Ye  are  the  temples  of  the  Holy  Ghost.'  " 
From  Rome  his  road  lay  through  Naples,  bringing  his 
first  view  of  the  Mediterranean  "Over  which,"  he  says, 
"had  hovered  the  dreams  of  my  childhood ;  the  beautiful 
little  ocean  of  the  ancient  world  that  buffeted  the  heroes 
and   apostles  o'f  Greece,   and  Tj^e,   and   Carthage,   and 
Rome,   and   Jerusalem."     From    Naples  he   set   sail   for 


io8  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

Sicily.  On  the  boat,  as  had  happened  to  him  before  in 
Italy,  an  Italian  gentleman  inquired  if  he  were  Rubin- 
stein. Of  Palermo  and  Syracuse,  he  relates  much,  adding: 
"We  passed  what  are  called  the  Campis  Laestrogonii, 
where  the  Laestrogonian  savages,  referred  to  by  Macaulay 
in  the  first  chapter  of  his  history,  lived.  I  remember 
working  hard  to  find  out  where  those  fellows  dwelt."  In 
his  onward  way  to  Egypt,  his  final  halt  was  Malta, 
whence  he  writes:  "I  never  expected  to  be  shipwrecked 
where  Paul  was,  to  caress  a  Maltese  cat  above  the  graves 
of  the  Knights  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem,  to  sit  down  at 
a  table  with  nineteen  men  and  no  ladies,  to  attend  a 
sitting  of  the  Maltese  Parliament,  and  to  see  women 
who  all  looked  like  nuns,  yet  these  things  have  happened 
to  me." 

In  Egj'pt  he  remained  a  month,  taking  the  long  trip 
up  the  Nile  to  the  first  cataract.  With  the  stillness  of 
nature,  and  the  ruins  of  the  past  about  him,  as  the  silent 
dahabeah  kept  running  aground,  he  wrote:  "A  Nile 
voyage  is  just  such  a  release  as  overworked  laborers  need. 
It  is  the  true  way  of  finding  a  rest  that  is  not  more  weari- 
some than  work."  Indeed,  such  was  his  content  during 
those  lazy  weeks  spent  in  conserving  energy,  that  even  the 
Parisian  ladies,  plying  him  with  questions  about  "the  In- 
dians, Longfellow,  and  the  author  of  the  'Wide,  Wide, 
World'  "  failed  to  disturb  his  peace,  however  fractured 
might  be  the  French  of  his  replies.  Let  us  quote  from  his 
letters : 

"Top  of  the  Great  Pyramid,  Feb.  14,  1874.  'Forty 
centuries  look  down  on  you.'  How  queer  it  seems  to  be 
here!  And  what  a  freak  it  is  for  me  to  be  letter-writing 
from  such  a  place,  at  such  a  time!  I  have  just  made  the 
ascent.     There  are   eleven   Bedouins   and   three   Anglo- 


SIX  MONTHS  OF  TRAVEL  109 

Saxons  on  this  majestic  mole-hill.  One  of  the  rascally 
fellows  who  helped  us  up  is  singing  'Yankee  Doodle,'  in 
order  to  win  from  us  a  'nice  backsheesh.'  I  look  toward 
the  Nile.  A  Bedouin  village  lies  at  my  feet.  Beyond,  are 
fields  that  were  green  before  Moses  wept  in  his  cradle 
and  will  remain  green  when  this  monument  of  human 
tyranny  shall  crumble  or  be  swept  away.  The  desert 
which  lies  on  every  side  cannot  conquer  the  fertilizing 
Nile-flood.  I  sit  where  Herodotus  and  Saladin  and  Napo- 
leon have  sat,  and  look  out  with  saddened  gaze  over  the 
ruins  of  Memphis  and  the  tombs  of  nameless  kings.  The 
Sphinx  still  faces  the  east,  but  the  hope  of  this  world 
comes  not  from  the  rising  sun.  Would  that  you  could 
sit  here  with  me  beneath  this  azure  sky." 

"Cairo,  February  15.  Our  dragoman,  Giogio  Caligula, 
a  faithful  fellow,  is  a  Greek,  and  led  us  to  a  purely  Greek 
service.  Hats  off  and  boots  on!  'Off  and  on'  is  a  fre- 
quent expression  with  us  now.  The  old  city  of  Memphis 
was  called  by  the  Hebrews  Noph.  The  city  of  Heliopolis 
is  the  On  of  the  Scriptures.  Hence  we  speak  of  Egypt  as 
the  land  of  Noph  and  On!" 

"Monday  afternoon  we  rode  out  four  miles  west  of 
Cairo  to  the  famous  Shoobra  Palace  Gardens.  The  im- 
mense fountain  in  the  palace  court  occupies  the  whole 
area.  It  is  unique  and,  strange  to  say,  was  lighted  by 
gas  jets  before  gas  was  introduced  into  Paris.  If  you 
want  to  see  Cairo  life,  this  is  the  place  to  drive.  It  is 
Fifth  Avenue,  Rotten  Row,  the  Champs  Elysees,  all  in 
one.  Camels  laden  w^'th  clover  and  wood,  minute  don- 
keys ridden  by  bare-legged  fellaheen  (or  countrymen) 
returning  home,  European  adventuresses  in  fine  carriages, 
American  and  English  starers,  and  the  viceroy  himself  in 


no  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

his  gilded  chariot  and  gay  out-riders,  these  all  jostle  each 
other  on  the  Shoobra  Road." 

"On  the  Nile,  February  i8.  'Egypt,'  said  Herodotus, 
'is  the  gift  of  the  Nile.'  That  is  all  Egyptian  geography 
in  a  nutshell.  The  soul  comes  from  God  and  longs  for 
God.  Water  comes  from  the  sea  and  longs  for  the  sea. 
The  rain  torrents  of  tropical  Africa,  yearning  to  mingle 
with  the  ocean  took  the  easiest  route  and  scooped  out 
a  channel  longer  than  the  Mississippi,  right  through  the 
African  sand.  The  Nile  is  the  longest  river  in  the  world, 
and  though  not  so  broad  and  majestic  as  the  St.  Lawrence, 
yet  to  a  Greek,  who  had  seen  only  the  little  creeks  of  At- 
tica, to  a  Roman  who  had  swum  the  Tiber  and  fished  in 
the  Arno,  or  even  to  a  Goth  from  the  Danube,  the  Nile 
must  have  seemed  the  chief  stream  of  the  world.  I  met, 
unexpectedly,  some  compatriots,  this  morning.  They  were 
on  an  Egyptian  bark,  and  had,  each,  one  leg  tied.  They 
were  four  American  birds.  American  in  origin,  domestic 
turkeys.  I  felt  like  rushing  to  their  rescue.  The 
Pharoahs  never  saw  a  turkey  on  the  Nile.  Moses  never 
had  roast  turkey  at  the  Egj^ptian  banquets.  The  turkey 
is  America's  gift  to  the  world,  and  I  claim  every  turkey  I 
see  as  an  exiled  fellow-countryman.  (There,  we  have 
just  stuck  in  the  mud,  and  I  must  go  on  deck  to  see  what 
the  matter  is.)" 

"February  28.  While  anchored  at  Thebes,  i.  e.,  the 
modern  Luxor  (east  bank)  I  was  invited  to  spend  the 
evening  with  an  American,  in  his  palatial  dahabeah.  One 
of  the  party  in  this  boat  was — who  do  you  suppose? 
Father  Hecker,  the  genial  Irish-American  orator,  who 
replied  to  Froude.  I  found  him  delightful.  He  has 
been  on  the  Nile  since  Christmas,  resting.  He  has  made 
great  collections  of  birds,  and  copied  inscriptions,  etc.,  etc. 


SIX  MONTHS  OF  TRAVEL 


He  said,  'It  is  well  for  us,  the  infants  of  the  world,  to 
come  back  to  Egypt,  the  cradle.  I  have  had  to  change 
my  chronology  and  some  other  things  in  the  last  few 
months.'  I  spoke  of  the  doctrine  of  a  future  life,  as  so 
wonderfully  expressed  and  illustrated  in  all  the  Egyptian 
tombs  and  temples.  'Yes,'  he  said,  'and  for  that  very 
reason,  I  have  thought  Moses  made  very  little  of  it.  It 
was  a  thing  universally  received  in  Egypt,  and  from  wise 
policy,  Moses  did  not  emphasize  it.  It  w^ould  have  seemed 
like  copying  from  the  ideas  of  that  country  to  which  the 
Jews  were  only  too  anxious  to  return.'  He  asked  me  to 
call  again,  on  returning  to  Luxor.  He  expects  to  remain 
some  time  pursuing  birds  and  his  Egyptian  studies.  I 
have  found  the  elucidation  of  several  Bible  mysteries  since 
coming  to  Egypt.  Stanley's  chapter,  introductory  to 
'Sinai  and  Palestine'  is  the  best  picture  of  our  voyage  that 
I  have  read." 

"I  must  describe  an  evening's  entertainment.  It  was 
at  Luxor.  The  German  Consul  there,  an  Arab,  invited 
the  Baron  to  ask  us  all  to  an  Arab  concert.  In  an  upper 
room  of  the  consulate,  well  furnished  for  a  wonder,  we 
were  seated  around  the  walls  and  treated  to  pipes,  cigars, 
coflfee,  sherbet,  and  date-wine.  The  musicians,  four  in 
number,  sat  on  the  floor.  Two  of  them  played  a  sort  of 
violin,  an  instrument  sounding  like  a  saw  undergoing  the 
surgery  of  a  file.  An  old  woman,  partly  vested,  played  a 
sort  of  drum.  Then  four  dancing  girls,  black  and  ugly, 
came  in  and  sat  down  and  sang  right  barbarously.  Next 
came  the  barbaric  dances,  accompanied  by  the  jingling  of 
little  cymbals.  The  girls  then  rested  and  smoked  and 
drank  wine  and  went  at  it  again.  Our  ladies  were  stifled 
by  the  smudge,  deafened  by  the  noise,  and  alarmed  at  some 
of  the  possibilities  of  the  dance,  when  the  wine  should  take 


112  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

effect!  I  signaled  to  the  Baron  to  give  the  sign  to  go,  but 
he  was  afraid  of  offending  the  Consul.  At  last  I  arose 
and  excused  myself  and  the  ladies  followed.  The  men 
stood  it  through.  All  the  descriptions  you  ever  read 
about  the  beauty,  etc.,  of  the  dancing  girls  of  Egypt  is 
ridiculous,  lying  bosh.  They  are  the  most  disgusting 
creatures  that  one  sees  anywhere." 

After  leaving  Egypt,  the  pivotal  point  in  the  next 
month's  journey  was  Jerusalem,  and  of  Jerusalem,  the 
Holy  Sepulchre.  But  it  was  six  days  after  landing  at 
Joppa  before  he  saw  the  city  of  David.  Swerved  by  the 
power  of  mere  sentiment,  he,  with  his  traveling  com- 
panion, six  guides  and  servants,  tents  and  provisions, 
fourteen  horses  and  mules,  made  a  detour  by  Bethlehem, 
Hebron,  and  the  Dead  Sea,  that  they  mignt  first  behold 
Jerusalem  from  the  Mount  of  Olives.  They  traversed  the 
Plain  of  Sharon,  "one  great  wheat  field,"  and  encamped 
in  the  land  of  Benjamin,  bright  with  scarlet  flowers  re- 
sembling poppies,  which  pilgrims  called  the  "Saviour's 
blood  drops."  He  thus  relates  part  of  the  story:  "We 
reached  Bethlehem  at  four  in  the  afternoon,  and  found  our 
tents  pitched  on  the  eastern  slope  of  the  hill  in  an  olive- 
grove,  just  below  the  convent  walls.  In  the  convent,  or 
rather  in  the  grotto,  are  Turkish  soldiers,  kept  there  by 
the  Sultan  to  prevent  the  Christian  sects  who  guard  the 
cradle  of  Jesus  from  cutting  each  other's  throats!  I 
asked  my  Latin  guide  how  many  Greek  monks  there  were 
in  the  convent.  His  reply  was  'Nous  ne  regardons  pas 
les  Grecs.'  This  is  the  saddest  thing  about  Bethlehem. 
'Love  one  another.'  I  met  an  Arab  here,  who  fought  in 
the  French  army  at  Sedan.  He  was  pointing  out  the 
hills  beyond  the  Dead  Sea,   giving  the   modern  Arabic 


SIX  MONTHS  OF  TRAP' EL  113 

names.      I    asked    him    which    was    Mt.    Pisgah.      *Mt. 
Pisgah!     I  never  heard  of  that!'  " 

"You  remember  Jacob's  prophecy  concerning  Judab, 
'Binding  his  foal  to  the  vine  and  his  ass's  colt  to  the  choice 
vine.'  Some  of  the  stalwart  knotty  vines  looked  like  good 
hitching-posts.  We  followed  the  brook,  (called  a  road) 
and  soon  spattered  into  Hebron,  a  Mussulman  city  of  ten 
thousand  inhabitants,  very  vile  and  fanatical.  We  knew 
there  were  Jews  in  Hebron,  with  some  one  of  whom  we 
hoped  to  get  a  lodging  for  the  night.  This  we  succeeded 
in  doing  at  once,  and  then  rode  through  the  town,  dirty, 
vile,  infernal,  in  search  of  the  Mosque  or  Harem  (one  of 
the  four  sacred  places  of  the  Mohammedan  and  Jewish 
world),  beneath  which  is  the  cave  of  Machpelah,  the  tomb 
of  Abraham  and  Sarah,  Isaac  and  Rebekah,  Jacob  and 
Leah.  We  were  scowled  on  by  the  villainous  inhabitants, 
who  are  taught  to  hate  all  Christians.  Crowds  of  boys 
followed  us  to  the  great  Harem.  We  knew  that  it  was 
impossible  to  enter,  that  a  bribe  of  a  million  dollars  would 
have  been  scorned.  Still  we  wanted  to  see  the  building 
beneath  which  was  the  cave,  the  only  possession  which 
Abraham  ever  had  in  the  Promised  Land,  his  tomb  and 
that  of  his  children.  This  is  one  of  the  few  spots  in  Pales- 
tine about  which  there  never  has  been  and  never  can 
be  dispute.  The  tomb  was  honored  and  guarded  in  the 
days  of  Josephus,  the  early  Christian  writers  describe  it, 
the  Crusaders  honored  the  shrine,  but  the  Moslems  have 
held  it  now  for  nearly  seven  centuries.  A  sheikh  con- 
ducted us  to  a  part  of  the  outer  wall,  where  a  small  portion 
of  the  natural  rock  of  the  'double  cave'  (Machpelah)  is 
exposed.  This  the  Jews  are  permitted  to  kiss.  I  had 
little  time  for  reflection  or  sentiment.  The  rascally  boys 
were  bent  on  insulting  us.     My  coat  was  pulled  three 


114  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

times  and  a  nasty  wreath  of  straw  was  flung  against  me. 
I  turned  and  hurled  it  back !  The  rhinoceros  whip  which 
I  had  in  my  hand  kept  the  villainous  rabble  a  little  way 
off,  and  gave  me  a  sense  of  power  which  was  refreshing. 
I  have  seldom  been  so  indignant.  I  felt  that  Abraham 
was  my  father,  as  well  as  theirs.  His  life  of  faith  was 
the  glory  of  the  whole  religious  world,  and  I  did  not  en- 
joy being  insulted  by  the  Ishmaelitish  branch  of  Abra- 
ham's posterity,  who  had  no  spiritual  relationship  to  the 
'Friend  of  God.'  From  the  countless  stones  at  my  feet, 
I  felt  that  God  could  raise  up  better  children  to  Abra- 
ham than  these  infantile  furies  about  me." 

"Jerusalem  drinks  from  a  broken  cistern.  Her  palaces 
are  buried  beneath  seventy  feet  of  ruins.  Her  only  garden 
is  Gethsemane.  And  yet  no  one  ever  approaches  any 
other  city  with  the  burning  eagerness  of  him  who  is 
drawing  near  to  poor,  discrowned  Jerusalem.  Her  broken 
rod  swallows  all  their  kingly  sceptres.  In  the  early  dawn 
we  broke  our  camp  at  Elisha's  fountain,  above  the  plain 
of  Jericho,  and  began  the  chief  journey  of  our  lives.  We 
had  gone  to  sleep,  the  night  previous,  with  a  certain 
awful  consciousness  that  before  another  evening  came, 
we  should  climb  to  the  ridge  of  the  Mount  of  Olives  and 
look  down  on  the  city  of  David.  It  was  early  Saturday 
morning  when  we  turned  our  horses'  heads  Zionward. 
We  had  nearly  four  thousand  feet  to  climb  from  the 
depressed  Jordan  valley  to  the  mountain-throne  where 
Jerusalem  sits  between  the  lion  of  Judah  and  the  wolf 
of  Benjamin.  Behind  us  was  the  past  of  Jewish  history. 
From  our  saddles  we  caught  glimpses  of  the  Dead  Sea, 
sending  up  for  us  as  for  Abraham  a  cloud  of  vapor,  that 
seemed  the  smoke  of  its  eternal  torment.  Beyond,  was  the 
long  blue  line  of  the  Moab  Hills.    Pisgah  and  Nebo  were 


From  a  Photograph  taken  in  Rome  in  1873. 


SIX  MONTHS  OF  TRAVEL 


there,  indistinguishable.  From  that  azure  wall  the  dying 
prophet  had  seen  the  land  of  promise  and  looked  down 
on  this  plain  of  Jericho,  then  covered  with  palm-trees 
and  busy  with  life.  Amid  those  hills  that  touch  the 
eastern  horizon,  Elijah  had  been  caught  up  in  fiery  trans- 
lation. Along  the  green  line  of  the  willow-shaded  Jordan 
the  voice  of  the  Baptist  had  preached  repentance  as  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  drew  near.  But  our  eyes  seldom 
reverted  to  all  this.  Eager  expectation  urged  us  on.  Men 
will  laugh  even  in  Palestine.  It  is  the  oldest  of  proverbs 
that  new  skies  do  not  make  new  people.  A  person  is  true 
to  himself,  put  him  where  you  will.  Women  talk  fashion 
in  St.  Peter's  and  study  dress  in  the  Church  of  the  Holy 
Sepulchre.  As  we  entered  the  noble  harbor  of  Alexandria, 
'the  chief  sea-port  of  the  world,'  I  heard  a  New  York 
stock-broker  and  a  Bombay  merchant  discussing  Eries  and 
Illinois  Centrals.  Our  amusement  came  from  Moham- 
med the  sheikh,  and  his  diminutive  donkey.  This 
animal  was  perhaps  three  feet  and  a  half  high.  On  his 
back  was  a  little  mountain  of  clothes  and  forage,  with 
saddle-bags  containing  the  day's  luncheon,  and  a  leather 
water-jug  filled  from  the  last  spring.  Perched  on  this 
heap  sat  Mohammed,  with  a  double-barreled  shot-gun 
strapped  to  his  back,  his  short  legs  bare  to  the  knee 
stretched  out  horizontally  on  either  side,  while  his  red 
Damascus  slippers  pointed  like  church-steeples,  religiously 
toward  the  skies.  While  he  sat  thus,  in  oriental  medita- 
tion, his  eagle  nose  almost  resting  on  his  hairy  chest,  the 
donkey,  like  Lot's  wife,  was  seized  with  curiosity  to  ob- 
serve what  was  going  on  behind  and  suddenly  reversed 
the  position  of  his  fore  and  hind  feet.  Result,  Mohammed 
lay  by  the  roadside.  He  was  not  meditative,  but  profane. 
Then  Mohammed  scrambled  back  on  his  whirligig  and 


Ii6  JOHX  HENRY   BARROWS 

fell  into  meditation  until  the  animal  repeated  his  observa- 
tions of  the  landscape  behind,  when  Mohammed  struck 
gravel  again,  and  again  climbed  back  to  his  perch.  Pt)or 
Mohammed!  like  many  others,  he  found  Jordan  literally 
a  hard  road  to  travel ! 

"The  simple  mule-path,  which  needs  no  stroke  of  pick 
and  shovel,  is  the  true  Syrian  road.  However  rocky  its 
bed  and  however  slow  the  horse's  or  camel's  foot  in  over- 
coming the  difficulties,  the  oriental  mind  is  content. 
There  is  a  leaden  satisfaction  in  following  the  old  paths. 
There  is  no  desire  for  speed,  and  no  mercy  on  the  beast. 

"It  was  something  to  enter  the  Holy  City  by  the  path 
the  Saviour  followed  in  his  last  journey.  When  noon 
came,  we  rested  and  lunched  near  two  of  the  most  char- 
acteristic features  of  Palestine  scenery,  a  fountain  and  a 
ruin.  Eg\'pt  is  watered  only  as  the  mechanical  skill  of 
man  can  utilize  one  great  mysterious  force.  But  the  Lord 
gave  his  people  a  land  wet  by  the  rains  of  heaven,  a  land 
of  springs  and  fountains.  Those  are  still  God's  bounty 
to  the  oriental  traveler,  and  by  them  one  is  sure  to  see 
the  relics  of  human  sin  and  fallen  greatness,  the  broken 
foundation  of  some  tomb  or  temple  or  city  wall  or  modern 
caravansary.  At  half-past  one  o'clock  we  entered  St. 
Stephen's  gate,  where  watch  is  still  kept  by  the  four  lions 
of  Godfrey. 

"It  is  an  event  in  a  prosaic  life  to  stand  for  the  first 
time  at  the  gates  of  a  walled  city,  especially  an  oriental 
city.  Here  are  the  outlets  and  inlets  of  all  activities. 
The  gates  of  Jerusalem  came  to  mean  the  city  itself. 
Jehovah  loveth  the  gates  of  Zion.  They  are  the  darlings 
of  the  Lord,  and  the  highest  note  of  the  Psalmist's  praise 
is  the  cry,  'Lift  up  your  heads  ye  everlasting  gates,  and 
the  King  of  Glory  shall  come  in.'  " 


SIX  MONTHS  OF  TRAVEL  117 

"The  Holy  Sepulchre  is  brilliantly  illuminated  within 
and  without.  Napoleon's  tomb  in  the  Hotel  des  Invalides 
is  the  only  other  in  the  world  that  seems  equally  mag- 
nificent. You  stoop  beneath  a  low  archway  and  enter  the 
ante-chamber,  where  the  stone  on  which  the  angel  sat  is 
exhibited.  Then  you  bow  yourself  once  more  and  stand 
in  the  holiest  place  of  this  world,  if  places  can  be  holy. 
Golden  lamps  make  the  once  dark  tomb  of  Joseph  bril- 
liant as  the  gateways  of  the  sun.  The  native  rock  of  the 
tomb  is  covered  over  with  other  stone.  The  marble  which 
overlies  the  mantel  on  which  the  Saviour  lay  has  been 
worn  with  kisses  and  washed  with  tears.  I  was  never 
elsewhere  so  greatly  moved.  There  came  visions  of  armies 
trooping  from  every  land  and  meeting  in  close-set  battle 
about  this  sacred  sepulchre.  Rivers  of  blood  seemed 
flowing  through  its  double  portals.  The  very  mistakes 
of  his  followers  illustrated  the  majesty  of  him  for  whose 
tomb  the  Christian  world  was  proud  to  die.  Then  I 
watched  the  worshippers  of  the  hour.  Here  was  an  old 
man  from  the  frozen  steppes  of  Siberia,  a  true  Scythian 
of  to-day.  Then  came  a  Greek  priest  in  rich  vestments, 
followed  by  a  poor  woman  from  a  village  of  Lebanon.- 
Dark  Egyptians  and  fair-haired  sons  of  the  west,  here 
met  as  children  of  Him  who  hath  made  of  one  blood  all 
nations  of  men  to  dwell  on  all  the  face  of  the  earth.  At 
last  a  Nubian  woman,  black  as  Ethiop's  queen,  passed 
the  sacred  portal,  and  thinking  of  the  wrongs  which  she 
symbolized  and  of  the  freedom  which  Christ  had  wrought, 
I  felt  that  the  Holy  Sepulchre  had  deepened  one  lesson 
in  my  heart,  and  that  henceforth  for  me  there  should  be 
neither  Jew  nor  Greek,  barbarian  nor  Scythian,  bond  nor 
free. 

"On  Sunday  afternoon   I  came  down  the  Mount  of 


ii8 JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

Olives  and  entered  the  little  gate  which  opens  into  Geth- 
semane,  it  must  be  close  to  the  site  of  the  ancient  garden, 
and  there  read  the  story  of  the  agony  of  prayer  and  the 
conquering  might  of  His  purpose  to  do  the  will  of  the 
Father.  Eight  venerable  olive-trees,  some  of  them  fifteen 
centuries  old,  sentinel  the  sacred  ground.  The  olive  is 
the  Christian's  tree.  The  graceful  palm  was  once  the 
symbol  of  Palestine,  as  we  learn  from  the  coins  of  the 
Maccabees.  The  vine  was  once  the  glory  of  Judah,  and 
wreathed  its  great  marble  clusters  on  the  portico  of  the 
last  temple.  But  palm  and  vine  are  gone,  and  the  olive 
abides." 

From  Jerusalem  he  journeyed  northward,  pitching  his 
tent  at  Nazareth,  Damascus,  and  Beirout.  His  record 
reads:  "April  6.  Our  Lx)rd  did  not  look  upon  superb 
natural  beauty  or  grandeur.  The  hills  encompassing 
Nazareth  are  almost  barren.  A  few  olive-groves  and  fig 
trees  are  about.  One  level  wheat-field  leads  southward 
toward  the  great  battlefield  of  Esdraelon.  There  was 
verj'  little  in  the  ordinary  view  on  which  the  soul  of  the 
Divine  One  could  have  fed.  His  inspiration  was  not 
from  nature.  He  was  above  it.  He  knew  the  soul  of 
natural  things,  but  his  own  soul  was  not  formed  and 
fashioned  by  the  outer  world.  His  'youth  sublime'  was 
lighted  from  'fountains  elder  than  the  day.'  His  Father 
wrought  upon  him,  so  that  the  divine  type  within  him 
took  possession  of  his  manhood.  It  seemed  very  sad  to 
me,  this  afternoon,  as  I  thought  of  ancient  Nazareth,  to 
think  of  Jesus  having  lived  for  thirty  years  in  the  midst 
of  miserable  humanity,  waiting  his  time.  But  Nazareth 
is  not  all  commonplace.  We  climbed  the  hill  back  of  the 
village  just  at  sunset.  It  was  a  difficult  walk  of  twenty 
minutes,  well  repaying  us,  however,  for  we  had  one  of 


SIX  MONTHS  OF  TRAVEL  119 

the  most  extensive  views  in  Palestine.  The  sun  was  just 
dropping  below  the  ridge  of  Carmel,  that  ran  away  out 
into  the  sea.  The  ^Mediterranean  (dragging  my  fancv 
clear  across  to  the  western  world)  lay  there,  snug  against 
the  mountain,  and  broadening  away  toward  the  horizon. 
I  never  knew  before  that  Jesus  might  daily  have  looked  at 
the  sea,  on  which  the  world  was  to  come  to  visit  the  home 
of  his  childhood.  South  of  us  was  the  great  Esdraelon 
Plain,  the  Plain  of  Megiddo  (the  Armageddon  of  the 
Apocalypse),  with  Gilboa  and  Tabor  in  the  midst  of  it. 
Eastward  were  transjordanic  hills  and  northward  the 
snow-peak  of  Hermon.  The  contrast  between  the  Naza- 
reth vale  and  this  hill-top  view  reminded  me  of  that  be- 
tween the  obscurity  of  Christ's  early  life,  and  the  growing 
glory  of  to-day." 

"We  left  Nazareth  at  seven  this  morning,  climbing  the 
hill  which  closes  the  vale  on  the  north.  I  looked  back 
on  a  scene  of  peculiar  interest,  Nazareth,  with  her 
churches  and  white  stone  houses,  nestled  in  the  vale,  amid 
her  cactus  hedges  and  olive-trees.  A  flock  of  black  goats 
were  feeding  on  the  hill-side,  to  the  west.  A  string  of 
fifteen  camels  (pilgrims  from  Damascus  to  Cairo)  was 
entering  the  town.  Two  camps  of  travelers  were  just 
breaking,  and  scores  of  pack-animals  stood  about  the  Vir- 
gin's Fountain.  In  the  cemetery  more  than  twenty  w^omen 
were  wailing  over  their  dead.  I  could  but  think  of  the 
words  of  the  beloved  disciple  of  the  Nazarene,  'God  shall 
wipe  away  all  tears  from  their  eyes ;  and  there  shall  be  no 
more  death,  neither  sorrow  nor  crying.'  I  shall  always 
remember  my  last  view  of  Nazareth." 

"Damascus,  Saturday  evening,  April  11,  1874.  I  write 
from  the  oldest  city  of  the  world,  a  city  that  may  have 
been  old  when  Abraham  chased  hither  the  five  kings  who 


JOHN   HENRY   BARROWS 


captured  Lot.  At  seven  I  saw  Damascus  on  the  horizon, 
with  its  white  minarets  shooting  up  from  a  wilderness  of 
verdure.  At  two  we  entered  the  city.  I  spent  the  morn- 
ing in  reading  the  book  of  Acts.  It  is  very  easy  reading 
on  horseback.  We  followed  the  road  which  Paul  must 
have  taken.  To  me  Damascus  is  associated  with  what  I 
regard  as  the  greatest  event  in  the  history  of  Christianity, 
the  conversion  of  the  persecuting  Pharisee  into  the  serv- 
ant of  Jesus  Christ.  The  sun  fairly  burned  down  on  us. 
What  must  have  been  the  brightness  of  that  light  that 
shone  above  the  brightness  of  a  Syrian  noonday!  Damas- 
cus is  encompassed  with  gardens  of  tropical  wealth  of 
vegetation.  'A  diamond  set  in  emeralds'  as  the  Arabian 
poets  say,  and  yet  earthly  and  sensual.  To  live  like  a 
Damascene  is  to  be  a  lazy  animal  trying  to  forget  every- 
thing, or  a  spry  animal  trying  to  get  everything." 

The  last  of  April  he  set  sail  for  Athens.  He  writes  on 
shipboard:  "April  22.  Yesterday  morning  at  eight  the 
hills  of  Cyprus  were  in  sight.  We  soon  dropped  anchor  in 
the  harbor  of  Larnaka,  the  chief  seaport  of  the  Island, 
where  five  hundred  Greek  pilgrims  went  ashore  with  the 
patriarch  of  Jerusalem.  There  are  still  seven  hundred 
people  on  the  steamer!  Such  a  sight  as  the  decks  present! 
We  went  ashore  for  two  hours,  called  on  the  American 
Consul,  General  Cesnola,  who  made  the  famous  Cesnola 
collection  of  Cyprian  antiquities,  now  in  the  Metropolitan 
Art  Museum  at  New  York.  I  sent  him  my  card  with  a 
word  or  two  about  General  Bates,  who  was  in  Libby 
Prison  with  him.  (The  Consul  was  sick  and  wouldn't 
receive  the  party.)  A  blue-coated  'kavasse'  rushed  down 
stairs  like  lightning  to  order  me  into  the  general's  pres- 
ence. We  had  a  delightful  talk  about  General  Bates, 
etc.     Cesnola  spoke,  with  tears  filling  his  eyes,  of  Sum- 


SIX  MONTHS  OF  TRAVEL 


ner's  death,  'the  best  man  in  America,'  as  he  called  him. 
The  sad  news  came  to  me  in  Beirut.  How  the  mighty 
oaks  have  fallen!  Sumner  has  been  my  ideal  statesman 
ever  since  I  gave  my  boy's  soul  to  the  cause  of  freedom. 
I  could  write  his  biography  from  my  memory.  How  glad 
I  am  the  old  Bay  State  did  tardy  justice  to  her  greatest  son 
whom  she  had  insulted.  Sumner  had  his  faults  and  made 
his  mistakes,  but  as  long  as  human  history  shall  be  writ- 
ten, his  name  will  be  known  as  that  of  the  bravest  soldier 
that  ever  carried  the  banner  of  freedom.  A  man  of  peer- 
less culture  and  of  granite  fortitude,  he  gave  a  giant's 
strength  to  the  help  of  the  lowly.  His  name  and  fame 
have  gone  out  through  all  the  earth.  His  words  are  clas- 
sic while  the  English  language  endures.  His  work  and 
his  memory  are  America's  priceless  heritage.  God  save 
the  old  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts!  God  bless  the 
Republic!  I  have  had  a  few  proud  tears  to  shed  beneath 
the  cedars  of  Lebanon.     A  'cedar  of  God'  has  fallen." 

His  face  was  now  turned  homeward.  Thoughts  of 
happy  meetings  and  of  work  to  be  done  pressed  in  upon 
him  but  they  could  not  dull  the  edge  of  Grecian  charms. 
He  writes:  "This  morning  dawned  on  the  ^gean  with 
a  beauty  that  made  me  a  sun-worshipper.  Homer's  sea 
is  wonderfully  lovely.  No  wonder  that  Greek  fancy  drew 
Venus  from  these  waves."  And  again,  "As  we  left  Athens 
the  hills  were  so  blue,  I  thought  them  vast  blocks  of 
lapis-lazuH  with  a  background  of  luminous,  palpitating, 
amber  sky." 

From  Greece,  his  course  ran  up  through  Italy,  Paris, 
and  London.  From  Florence,  in  an  article  that  was 
printed  in  The  Independent,  he  describes  the  International 
Flower  Show. 

"An  International  Flower  Show,  in  such  a  city,  in  the 


JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 


month  of  May!  It  is  like  advertising  the  return  of 
Arcadia,  or  the  rehabilitation  of  the  Golden  Age.  The 
King  of  Italy  gave  his  royal  but  not  handsome  presence 
to  the  simple  ceremony  of  the  inauguration.  The  face 
of  Victor  Emmanuel  is  in  striking  contrast  with  Italian 
art  and  nature,  and  especially  with  such  a  combination  of 
natural  and  artistic  beauty  as  Florence  to-day  exhibited. 
As  the  King  stood  on  the  summit  of  the  great  cascade, 
surrounded  by  gigantic  plants  of  rarest  grace,  and  looked 
upon  the  gay  dresses,  the  bright  uniforms,  and  the  floral 
profusion  below,  one  could  but  think  of  a  fairy  scene,  with 
a  buffalo  as  the  central  figure.  But  Flora  rules  to-day, 
and  it  becomes  us  to  examine  her  beautiful  treasures.  On 
our  right  as  we  enter  are  two  little  gardens  of  tulips, 
from  Haarlem,  of  almost  every  conceivable  combination 
of  color.  I  believe  no  nation  ever  ventured  to  compete 
with  Holland  in  tulips.  'What  can  he  do  that  cometh 
after  the  King?'  Here  are  pinks  from  Geneva,  looking 
too  sweet  to  sympathize  with  theological  warfare.  Augs- 
burg comes  to  Florence  with  a  rich  bouquet  in  her  right 
hand,  and  extorts  a  'confession'  to  which  there  are  no 
dissenters.  A  collection  of  pansies  from  Leghorn,  some 
of  them  black,  others  only  'freaked  with  jet,'  recalled  the 
violets  which  Lowell,  in  dreary  February,  threw  on  the 
grave  of  his  friend,  the  poet,  Arthur  Hugh  Clough.  The 
roses  bloom  there  now  and  the  English  cemetery  smiles 
with  May  blossoms.  I  made  my  pilgrimage  to  Mrs. 
Browning's  tomb  to-day;  but  gazed  with  deeper  emotions 
on  the  plain  slab  inscribed  with  the  name  of  the  great 
Boston  heretic.  Loving  hands  had  decked  the  grave  with 
white  lilies  of  Val  d'Arno.  Those  of  us  who  believe 
that  Theodore  Parker  strayed  far  from  the  truth  must 
admire  the  greatness  of  his  heart  and  the  strength  and 


SIX  MONTHS  OF  TRAVEL  12.3 


fervor  with  which  he  loved  the  God  whom  he  had  not 
seen  and  the  brother  whom  he  had  seen." 

In  London  he  writes  of  two  preachers.  "When  I  ar- 
rived in  front  of  Spurgeon's  Tabernacle,  I  found  myself 
one  of  a  thousand  waiting.  But  I  showed  mj'  card  to  an 
usher,  and  he  referred  me  to  an  officer  who  gave  me  a 
little  ticket  in  the  shape  of  an  envelope,  saying,  'Put 
something  in  the  envelope,  drop  it  in  that  box,  and  walk 
in  that  gate.'  I  was  admitted  to  the  first  gallery.  When 
I  explained  how  far  I  had  come  to  another  usher,  he  said 
that  all  Americans  talked  just  that  way.  Still,  he  gave 
me,  after  a  while,  a  seat  in  the  front  row,  near  the  great 
elevated  platform  called  the  pulpit,  and  I  w^as  thoroughly 
happy.  The  vast  room  w^as  filled  at  fifteen  minutes  of 
eleven,  just  as  completely  as  Beecher's  church.  Mr. 
Spurgeon  looks  much  younger  than  I  supposed  him  to 
be.  Indeed,  he  is  only  forty.  After  a  strong,  vigorous, 
spiritual  prayer,  he  read  one  of  Watts's  hymns,  with  his 
glorious  voice,  and  then  w^e  sang!  I  thought  I  was  back 
in  Plymouth  Church.  Then  he  read  parts  of  the  sixth  and 
seventh  chapters  of  Acts,  commenting  in  a  way  that  would 
have  delighted  Walter,  and  did  me.  Then  came  another 
prayer  full  of  rememberable  things.  'Get  glory  out  of  us 
somehow^  O  Lord !'  '  May  we  be  on  tip-toe  of  expecta- 
tion of  invisible  things.'  He  said  that  his  heart  was  en- 
vious with  a  hunger  for  souls  when  he  thought  of  the 
Lord's  work  in  Scotland.  (Afterwards  he  spoke  of 
Moody  and  Sankey.)  He  prayed  for  America  in  a  way 
that  made  a  fellow  cry!  Then  came  another  hymn,  then 
the  notices,  and  then  a  sermon  an  hour  long,  on  Stephen's 
martyrdom,  one  of  the  richest,  most  pungent,  and  most 
telling  sermons  I  have  ever  heard.  Spurgeon  went  far 
beyond   my   expectations.     What   a    grip   on    the   Saxon 


124  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

English  he  has!  Here  is  something  that  I  noted.  'Death 
is  only  the  crown.  Life  is  the  head  that  must  wear  it.' 
The  sermon  was  followed  by  the  benediction,  a  new  thing, 
to  me.  I  am  not  sure  but  Spurgeon  has  rightly  divined 
human  nature,  in  this  feature  of  the  service.  God  bless 
the  great  apostle!  He  has  not  Beecher's  versatile  genius 
and  varied  culture.  He  has  not  Beecher's  variety.  He 
does  not  stir  you  all  up,  as  Beecher  does.  But  he  sends 
arrows  right  through  you.  He  preaches  Christ  with  a 
heart  as  big  as  Luther's  and  with  a  mastery  of  English  like 
John   Bunyan. 

"About  three  I  went  into  Westminster  Abbey  in  the 
north  transept,  just  below  the  statue  of  Lord  Mansfield. 
The  crowd  filled  every  inch  of  standing  and  sitting  room 
as  far  as  I  could  see.  The  music  was  the  sweetest  that 
ever  came  to  my  ear.  When  the  service  was  over,  a  new 
man  arose  from  a  new  part  of  the  abbey  to  preach.  He 
seemed  to  be  about  fifty-five  years  of  age,  wore  a  black 
velvet  skull-cap,  and  read  from  a  blue  manuscript  his 
text,  Ps.  68: 1.  'Now  let  the  Lord  arise,  and  let  his 
enemies  be  scattered.'  His  voice  reached  everywhere 
(where  there  was  anj'body  to  listen).  His  reading  was 
not  stiff,  but  hearty,  and  good-natured.  The  man's  face 
was  pleasant  and  thoughtful.  He  spoke  of  the  origin  of 
the  text.  David  had  taken  it  from  the  morning  shout 
of  the  Camp  of  Moses.  He  illustrated  its  frequent  use  in 
Old  Testament  history,  with  fulness  of  learning.  Then 
he  described  occasions  in  the  history  of  the  church  when 
the  words  'Now  let  God  arise,'  etc.,  had  rung  out  like  a 
trumpet.  He  spoke  of  Origen,  and  Savonarola,  and 
Cromwell,  with  a  touch  of  the  old  rhetorical  brilliancy 
with  which  he  had  made  me  familiar  as  I  read  his  words 
in  my  librar}'  in  the  far  west,  or  by  the  Jordan,  and  be- 


SIX  MONTHS  OF  TRAVEL 125 

neath  the  walls  of  Jerusalem  in  the  far  east!  I  needed 
no  one  to  tell  me  that  I  was  listening  to  an  old  friend. 
Dean  Stanley  preaches  a  splendid  Christian  morality.  He 
knows  what  Christianity  is  in  its  relation  to  civilization, 
to  the  state,  to  society,  to  church  organizations,  but  he 
could  not  bring  a  living  Christ  to  the  masses  as  does 
Spurgeon.  I  love  him  for  his  large  charity.  I  admire  him 
for  his  wide  and  elegant  scholarship,  and  I  gladly  shout 
the  old  war-cry,  'On,  Stanley,  on!'  " 

The  following  are  selections  from  his  last  letter  to 
America,  written  partly  in  London,  partly  on  shipboard, 
to  Mrs.  May  Riley  Smith: 

"I  must  not  write  a  word  till  I  have  laid  my  offerings 
at  the  feet  cf  the  young  child.  Permit  a  man  from  the 
east  (not  a  wise  man)  to  pay  his  tribute  to  the  little  king 
who  has  come  to  bind  its  father  and  mother  with  new 
chains  of  love.  I  have  no  gold  (to  spare)  !  I  have  no 
incense  (I  neglected  to  buy  it  when  in  Jerusalem).  I 
have  no  myrrh  from  'the  spicy  shores  of  Araby  the  blessed.' 
But  I  give  my  love  and  my  prayers  to  the  little  wingless 
cherub,  and  I  freely  offer  you  any  advice  in  the  training 
of  this  new  'heir  of  all  the  ages  in  the  foremost'  cradle 
'of  time.' 

"I  send  you  a  flower  from  the  chestnut-tree  in  Abney 
Park,  under  which  Watts  used  to  sit  and  meditate  his 
hymns.  I  have  visited  his  grave  in  Bunhill  Fields,  near 
that  of  dear  John  Bunyan  and  Daniel  Defoe.  I  pre- 
ferred Robinson  Crusoe  to  Pilgrim's  Progress  when  I 
was  of  your  age — (I  mean  when  I  was  young!)  but  my 
tastes  as  well  as  my  needs  have  changed  since.  Opposite 
Bunhill  Fields  is  the  chapel  where  John  Wesley  preached. 
I  went  up  into  the  great  man's  pulpit  and  occupied  it! 
Wesley's  tomb  is  just  back  of  the  chapel.     I  send  you  a 


126  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

floral  souvenir  which  you  may  give  to  any  Methodist 
friend  that  wants  it.  There  is  one  Englishman  that  I 
revere  more  than  any  other.  Of  course  I  found  my  way 
to  St.  Giles's  church,  and  stood  with  proud  and  grateful 
love  over  the  grave  of  John  Milton,  'the  glory  of  English 
literature,  the  champion  and  martyr  of  English  liberty.' 
How  many  recollections,  reaching  back  to  my  early  col- 
lege days,  when  I  slept  with  the  big  red  volume  of  Mil- 
ton's works,  came  to  me  then !  How  much  of  my  mental 
furnishings,  how  many  of  my  best  aspirations  have  come 
from  years  given  to  the  study  of  him  who  wrote  with  the 
pen  and  heart  of  an  archangel!  Leaving  St.  Giles,  a 
beautiful  church,  fit  resting  place  for  a  beautiful  soul,  I 
felt  a  familiar  sensation  creeping  over  me.  So  I  entered 
the  Milton  Coffee  House,  and  sat  down  to  a  sixpenny 
dinner!  It  was  pleasant,  as  I  devoured  my  roast  beef, 
to  look  up  to  the  walls  of  the  room  and  see  Milton's  face 
looking  at  me,  and  Cromwell's,  too,  and  that  of  Macau- 
lay,  Milton's  greatest  eulogist.  I  call  that  a  literary  din- 
ner.    The  cost  was  sixpence  ha'penny.     I  must  be  exact. 

"One  of  my  happiest  afternoons  in  London  was  spent 
on  the  Thames,  riding  way  down  to  Greenwich  and 
Woolwich  and  back.  Did  I  see  the  grand  spectacle  of 
London's  glories,  as  the  swift  boat  shot  along?  Yes,  but, 
I  had  just  purchased  for  eleven  pence  Beecher's  last 
lectures  on  Preaching  (the  best  thing  that  ever  came  from 
him)  and  I  devoured  three  of  his  discourses  with  more 
hunger  than  I  have  had  for  the  last  six  da}'s.  He  made 
me  almost  forget  Westminster  and  the  Temple  and  the 
Tower  and  the  great  bridges  and  all  the  pageantry  of 
river  life.  You  see  I  am  getting  into  my  preaching  harness 
once  more. 

"Let  me  tell  you  a  pleasant  thing.    You  know  of  the 


SIX  MONTHS  OF  TRAVEL  127 

great  revivals  in  Edinburgh  and  Glasgow,  under  our 
friends  Aloody  and  Sankey.  Kave  you  thought,  while 
you  have  been  in  your  sick-room  far  away,  that  your 
words  were  comforting  and  inspiring  thousands,  in  the 
land  of  cakes  and  brither  Scots?  But  it  is  a  fact.  I  was 
much  amused  yesterday  in  Glasgow,  to  see  in  a  shop  win- 
dow, among  photographs  of  eminent  persons  like  Queen 
Victoria,  John  Bright,  Earl  Derby,  etc.,  the  smiling  face 
of  our  friend  Sankey.  The  minstrel  shall  stand  before 
kings,  might  be  added  to  Solomon's  Proverbs.  (Mr. 
Sankey  was  singing  one  of  Mrs.  Smith's  songs,  "Let  us 
gather  up  the  sunbeams.")  What  a  world  of  memories 
my  mind  wanders  through  as  I  review  the  past  year.  I 
am  certainly  the  same  old  fellow — a  little  stouter,  far 
healthier,  perhaps  a  little  less  mean — for  I  have  had  a 
wonderful  experience  of   divine   goodness," 


CHAPTER  VII 

MASSACHUSETTS    YEARS    1 874- 1 88 1 

My  father  spent  the  next  seven  years  in  Massachu- 
setts. During  this  period  we  can  readily  descry  changes 
in  his  character;  for  like  every  life,  whatever  its  unity,  his 
was  a  kind  of  palimpsest;  at  times  its  former  record  was 
partly  erased,  and  for  it  another  substituted.  His  new 
inscriptions  may  largely  be  assigned  to  his  new  environ- 
ment. He  grew  both  less  impulsive  and  more  intense  as 
he  assumed  responsibilities  in  communities  where  the  evils 
were  more  rigid,  distinctions  of  rank  allotted  with  greater 
nicety,  and  sympathies  but  slowly  demonstrated. 

In  1874,  he  entered  Andover  Theological  Seminary, 
where,  although  for  a  time  Professors  Park  and  Phelps 
were  absent,  he  passed  a  profitable  year.  The  autobiog- 
raphy of  John  Stuart  Mill  was  causing  much  discussion 
that  fall;  and  many  Christian  people  were  of  the  opinion 
that  it  would  do  serious  harm.  In  a  debate  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Porter  Rhetorical  Society,  he  upheld  the 
opposite  side,  which  accorded  with  his  life-long  faith  that 
fair  play  is  ever  wise  as  well  as  honorable,  and  that  the 
larger  truth  must  eventually  absorb  the  lesser.  His  win- 
ning the  debate  may  also  possess  significance.  Through- 
out the  winter  he  frequently  preached  in  Park  Street 
Church,  Boston,  and  so  successfully  that  its  deacons  made 
advances  to  him.  These,  and  a  call  from  the  First  Con- 
gregational Church  of  Detroit,  he  rejected,  believing  him- 
self as  yet  unequal  to  a  metropolitan  pulpit.  In  this  he 
doubtless  acted  wisely ;  he  was  but  twenty-seven  years  old, 


MASSACHUSETTS  YEARS  129 

with  uncertain  health,  and  a  still  scanty  stock  of  sermons. 
Besides,  some  lessons  can  be  mastered  quicker  in  a  small 
community  than  in  a  large  one.  When  asked  by  a  friend 
if  he  were  waiting  for  opportunities,  he  replied,  "Yes,  and 
making  them." 

Dr.  Francis  E.  Clark  tells  us:  "It  is  nearly  thirty  years 
since  I  met  him  first.  He  was  a  student  in  Andover,  alert, 
erect,  wide-eyed,  with  a  distingue  look  that  has  grown 
with  the  years,  and  which  befits  the  crowding  dignities 
and  honors  of  these  later  days.  One  of  my  first  recollec- 
tions of  my  friend  was  when  I  as  a  student  was  walking 
down  Andover  Hill  on  the  eve  of  a  debate  with  another 
school  in  which  I  was  one  of  the  contestants.  I  met  Bar- 
rows walking  up  the  hill,  and  he  sung  out  in  his  cheery 
way,  'Go  in  and  win,  Clark.  I  believe  in  you  everj' 
time.'  Doubtless  he  has  forgotten  the  incident  long  ago, 
but  I  have  not,  and  it  is  characteristic  of  his  life. 

"I  have  seen  him  when  upon  the  same  platform  with 
myself  follow  a  somewhat  uninteresting  speaker  with 
glowing  face  and  moistened  eyes,  because  he  saw  the 
beauty  and  nobility  of  the  thought  which  others,  looking 
only  at  the  halting  outward  expression,  failed  to  catch.  I 
have  knelt  at  the  same  bench  with  him  in  the  Quiet  Hour 
at  a  Christian  Endeavor  Convention  while  the  leader 
offered  the  closing  prayer,  and  the  rude  bench  shook  with 
the  intense  emotion  of  the  one  at  my  side.  A  cold-blooded, 
critical  man  would  very  likely  have  been  picking  to  pieces 
the  rhetoric  of  the  prayer,  and  have  risen  to  his  feet  un- 
moved. 

"This  is  the  secret,  in  part,  at  least,  of  Dr.  Barrows's 
moving  eloquence,  for  few  men  can  sway  an  audience  as 
he  can.  He  himself  opens  his  mind  to  others,  and  because 
of  this,  others  open  their  minds  to  him.     He  is  moved 


Uo JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

by  others;  therefore  he  moves  others.  This,  too,  is  the 
secret  of  the  abiding  character  of  his  friendships.  He 
does  not  use  men  for  his  convenience  and  profit,  and  they 
never  suspect  him  of  it.  He  does  not  love  a  friend  to- 
day and  discard  him  to-morrow  because  he  has  got  through 
with  him.  When  he  grapples  a  man  to  his  heart  it  is  with 
hooks  of  steel,  because  it  is  the  man's  good  points  that 
he  sees  and  loves,  while  he  is  generously  blind  to  his  weak- 
nesses." 

Reverend  James  L.  Hill,  another  friend  whom  he  made 
at  Andover,  writes:  "In  that  day  ministers  used  to  dis- 
cuss the  question,  'In  preparation  for  the  pulpit  shall  a 
man  prepare  himself  or  his  sermon?'  Dr,  Barrows  pre- 
pared himself.  He  stopped  at  nothing  that  would  better 
fit  him  for  public  service.  He  lived  for  it;  he  died  in  it. 
Worn  with  his  studies  in  Andover,  and  with  supplying 
Sundays  the  Park  Street  Church  in  Boston,  he  would  say 
to  me  on  Saturday  afternoon,  'Let  us  get  a  horse  and 
carriage  and  you  drive.  The  morning  cometh.  The  serv- 
ice will  be  enough  better  to  justify  it.'  " 

That  work  to  which  he  at  length  gave  himself  lay  in 
the  neighboring  city  of  Lawrence.  The  accomplished 
Reverend  Theodore  T.  Munger  had  just  resigned  from  its 
Eliot  Congregational  Church.  This  had  been  founded 
ten  years  previous  by  a  half  dozen  influential  families  who 
felt  that  some  church  was  needed  to  reach  the  factory 
,  employees.  Its  membership  now  numbered  one  hundred 
and  twenty-six.  My  father  was  involved  in  debt  which  he 
had  contracted  during  his  expensive  foreign  travels.  With 
the  debt  the  Church,  in  February,  offered  to  help  him,  if 
he  would  accept  its  call.  To  its  people  his  heart  went  out, 
and  without  waiting  to  receive  from  Andover  his  B.  D. 
degree,  he  began  his  new  duties  in  Lawrence,  on  March 


MASSACHUSETTS  YEARS i3£ 

14th,  1875,  and  was  both  ordained  and  installed  the  29th 
of  April. 

With  the  ordination  he  had  some  difficulty.  The  exam- 
ination by  the  Andover  Conference  surprised  him.  It  was 
far  less  thorough  than  he  had  anticipated.  Moreover,  on 
one  point  he  disagreed  with  his  examiners;  it  was  his  be- 
lief that  all  who  loved  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  should  be 
invited  to  the  Lord's  Supper,  whether  church  members 
or  not,  since  the  minister  stood  simply  in  the  place  of 
Christ,  who  had  made  the  invitation  general.  After 
being  badgered  for  several  hours,  he  lost  one  vote,  by  his 
quickness  of  retort.  When  it  was  suggested  to  him  that 
the  Devil  himself  might  accept  his  invitation,  he  rejoined, 
"We  have  him  ever  with  us."  Without  reaching  a  de- 
cision, the  meeting  adjourned,  to  reassemble  later.  At 
length  the  audience  gathered  above  for  the  Installation 
service  became  impatient  at  the  delay,  and  the  conference, 
unable  to  make  him  retract,  voted  to  ordain  him.  Years 
after,  when  the  reputation  of  Andover  for  over-liberality 
frightened  the  churches,  many  a  committee  wrote  to  him, 
asking  if  in  his  opinion  it  would  be  dangerous  for  them  to 
call  a  young  Andover  man  whom  they  liked.  He  must 
always  have  smiled  at  his  invariable  advice  to  "offer  the 
young  man  a  chance."  Dr.  E.  K.  Alden  gave  the  sermon 
that  ordained  him  into  the  ministry,  and  the  Boston 
preacher  couU  hardly  have  selected  words  more  singularly 
appropriate  to  the  new  pastor,  than  his  text,  "Bring  forth 
things  old  and  new  out  of  the  treasury." 

On  the  sixth  of  May,  that  same  year,  though  still  in 
debt,  he  was  married.  This  proved  a  wise  step.  In 
Lawrence,  as  always,  my  mother  was  of  incalculable  aid 
to  him,  not  merely  in  many  practical  ways,  by  her  ability 
to  economize,  her  large  Bible  class  of  factory  women,  her 


132  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

calls,  her  hours  of  reading  aloud,  undaunted  even  by 
"Charnock  on  the  Attributes,"  but  by  her  good  counsel, 
high  ideals,  and  unfailing  sympathy.  Through  their  com- 
bined efforts  and  prayers  and  the  support  of  its  members, 
the  Eliot  Church  grew  rapidly,  m.ore  than  doubling  its 
membership.  Both  Missionary  and  Temperance  work 
interested  him.  At  his  invitation  Francis  Murphy  con- 
ducted a  remarkable  temperance  campaign  in  Lawrence, 
in  which  he  assisted.  But  the  church  v.as  in  his  mind 
primarily  a  place  of  prayer,  wherein  men  received  the 
sacraments  and  learned  of  God.  A  church  was  not  a 
factorj^  but  a  mountain  stream.  It  was  a  minister's  duty 
to  keep  its  springs  pure,  its  waters  abundant,  its  bed  un- 
blocked with  rubbish,  rather  than  to  construct  mill-wheels 
for  it  to  turn  or  ships  to  float  on  its  surface.  Any  at- 
tempt to  cure  the  evil  in  human  hearts  without  Christ,  he 
used  often  to  say,  was  like  trying  "to  extinguish  Vesuvius 
with  cologne  water."  And  the  means  that  most  pro- 
foundly interested  him  for  bringing  men  to  God  through 
Christ  was  preaching. 

Hence  he  naturally  continued  his  theological  reading, 
spent  hours  daily  in  Bible  study,  and  devoted  most  of  his 
strength  to  sermon  writing  and  to  preparation  for  prayer- 
meetings.  During  the  summer  of  1879,  while  the  church 
was  being  enlarged  to  accomm.odate  its  increased  member- 
ship, he  preached  in  the  city  hall.  To  his  surprise,  he 
had  crowded  audiences,  and  the  Lawrence  papers  printed 
and  discussed  with  enthusiasm  his  sermons.  Some  of 
these  were  on  such  popular  subjects  as  the  "Duties  of 
■Husbands  and  Wives,"  "Amusements,"  "Church-going," 
"Hopeful  Signs  in  the  Political  Life  of  Lawrence," 
"Modern   Attacks  on   the   Bible;"   others,   on   "Tempta- 


MASSACHUSETTS  YEARS 133 

tions,"    "Christian    Contentment,"     "The    Divinity    of 
Christ." 

One  of  his  chief  experiences  during  those  Lawrence 
years  was  his  attendance  on  the  Beecher  Council.  It  will 
be  remembered  that  for  some  time  Mr.  Beecher  had  been 
scurrilously  attacked  by  his  enemy,  Theodore  Tilton ;  that 
in  1874  a  Committee  of  his  Church  had  completely  exon- 
erated him ;  that  the  Beecher-Tilton  trial  had  then  ensued 
in  the  Brooklyn  city  court,  at  whose  end  the  jury  and  pub- 
lic were  divided  over  Mr.  Beecher's  innocence,  in  which 
the  judge  and  leading  lawyers  believed.  In  1876  there 
was  still  hostility  to  Plymouth  Church  and  to  its  minister, 
and  much  trouble  was  being  caused  by  a  few  members  who 
refused  to  attend  its  services  and  threatened  to  call  coun- 
cils if  their  names  were  dropped  from  the  church  roll. 
Therefore,  in  February,  Plymouth  Church  summoned 
a  National  Advisory  Council,  extending  invitations  to  one 
hundred  and  seventy-two  churches  and  twenty-eight 
eminent  ministers  without  churches.  The  joy  felt  by  this 
young  and  unknown  Lawrence  pastor  on  receiving  an  in- 
vitation to  join  the  council  was  intense.  His  faith  in  his 
hero,  over  whose  sufferings  and  diminished  influence  he 
grieved,  had  never  flagged.  The  following  are  extracts 
from  letters  to  his  wife:  "Brooklyn,  Feb.  16,  1876.  In 
Dunton's  store  I  was  taken  for  the  'gasconading  harlequin' 
Tilton.  On  entering  Plymouth  Church  VvC  were  sur- 
rounded by  friends  *  *  *  Henry  Ward  was  there, 
serene,  happy,  without  a  care, — except  his  care  for  others, 
for  he  was  busy  distributing  letters  to  mem^bers.  We  sat 
by  General  Bates.  The  galleries  were  filled.  The  body 
of  the  house  was  reserved  for  delegates  and  pastors.  At 
two,  Mr.  Beecher  stepped  upon  the  platform;  the  pulpit 
had  -been  removed,  and  flowers  were  there  in  great  abun- 


134  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

dance.  Nobody  who  saw  him,  as  with  perfect  command 
of  himself  and  dignified  deliberation  he  began  his  address 
of  welcome,  would  have  imagined  that  any  trouble  had 
come  to  his  life.  His  Saviour's  words  were  true  of  him, 
'My  peace  I  leave  with  you.'  His  address  was  beautiful 
and  just  to  the  point.  He  spoke  of  our  leaving  work 
that  could  ill  spare  us,  but  hoped  that  through  God's 
blessing  on  us  here,  we  should  carry  back  to  our  labors 
a  new  spirit  of  Christian  zeal  and  love.  Dr.  Bacon  was 
elected  moderator,  nominated  by  Dr.  H.  M.  Storrs.  Gov- 
ernor Dingley  of  Maine,  and  General  Bates  were  elected 
assistant  moderators.  After  Dr.  Bdcon's  appropriate 
opening  words,  and  the  appointing  of  a  business  com- 
mittee, came  Mr.  Beecher's  address.  It  was  simply  sub- 
lime. I  never  heard  more  impressive  speaking.  All  felt 
that  the  Lord  was  with  him.  *  *  *  Mr.  Beecher 
had  designated  the  pastor  and  delegate  of  the  Eliot  Church 
to  the  house  of  Professor  Raymond.  We  told  Mr. 
Beecher  that  we  were  being  entertained  by  friends,  and 
he  said,  'It  is  best  to  have  as  little  as  possible  to  do  with 
Plymouth  Church.'  " 

"February  17.  Mr.  Beecher  was  asked  many  questions 
and  his  replies  in  the  evening  were  electrifying,  especially 
in  his  account  of  the  relations  of  Dr.  Storrs  and  Dr.  Bud- 
ington  to  himself.  Men  broke  down  and  wept.  This 
Council  will  do  great  good,  simply  by  clearing  up  some 
things  and  enabling  men  to  see  matters  as  they  are.  News 
of  Dr.  Bushnell's  death  came  this  morning.  Dr.  Bacon 
and  President  Porter  spoke,  and  ]\Ir.  Beecher  prayed  us 
all  into  tears.    God  bless  Mr.  Beecher." 

Among  his  diversions  were  the  study  of  history'',  Dante, 
and  Art,  and  a  journey  to  Utah,  where  he  became  much 
interested   in   the   Mormon   problems   there   confronting 


.  MASSACHUSETTS  YEARS uS 

his  brother  Walter.  He  and  his  wife  were  given  to  hos- 
pitality. They  entertained  relatives,  friends,  and  many 
such  celebrated  transients,  as  Joseph  Cook,  and  Wash- 
ington Gladden.  One  of  their  most  frequent  and  delight- 
ful guests  was  an  old  Paris  acquaintance,  the  distinguished 
artist,  Colonel  James  Fairman.  Under  Colonel  Fair- 
man's  supervision  an  art  circle  of  two  hundred  members 
was  formed  in  Lawrence,  and  it  came  to  pass  that  during 
one  winter  my  mother  read  to  my  father  nearly  forty  books 
on  art.  Another  charming  guest,  in  1878,  was  Wendell 
Phillips,  They  were  then  living  a  little  out  of  town 
where  for  several  weeks  no  servant  could  be  induced  to 
follow.  Throughout  the  two  days  of  Wendell  Phillips' 
stay,  the  domestic  machinery  moved  so  smoothly  that  he 
failed  to  perceive  that  Mrs.  Barrows  was  running  it  un- 
aided. At  his  departure  she  could  not  resist  telling  him. 
He  thereupon  rebuked  her  for  keeping  him  in  the  dark, 
remarking,  "I  could  have  been  of  great  assistance.  My 
chicken  and  coffee  might  have  equalled  yours,  for,  owing 
to  my  wife's  invalidism,  I  have  learned  to  cook  scientifi- 
cally, and  after  the  servant's  sudden  exit,  my  wife  some- 
times says,  "This  is  so  delicious,  I  suspect  the  girl's  gone!" 
After  Wendell  Phillips'  death,  years  later,  my  father 
wrote  of  him: 

"I  knew  him  a  little  and  loved  him  much.  He  was 
personally  the  most  fascinating  of  men,  and  the  closer 
you  came  to  him,  the  more  delightful  and  noble  he  seemed, 
with  his  'ineffable  sweetness'  and  that  winning  courtesy 
which  disarmed  all  prejudice.  It  is  said  that  the  meas- 
urements of  the  Apollo  Belvidere  were  almost  precisely 
those  of  Wendell  Phillips.  But  while  he  had  the  per- 
sonal splendor  of  the  Greek  Apollo,  the  light  which 
warmed  his  soul  and  flamed  his  cheek,  and  seemed  at  times 


136 JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

to  surround  his  whole  person,  fell  from  the  Transfigured 
Christ.  Several  times  I  have  bowed  and  knelt  with  him 
in  prayer,  and  have  listened  to  his  own  voice  in  supplica- 
tion, and  I  believe  that,  tolerant  as  he  was  with  freedom 
of  thought,  severe  as  he  was  in  rebuking  churchly  sins,  im- 
patient as  he  was  with  all  cant,  he  had  a  child's  heart  of 
piety.  Of  course  he  had  more  faith  in  the  religion  of 
action  than  in  the  religion  of  profession  alone.  After 
relating  to  me  many  instances  of  noble  self-devotion  on 
the  part  of  others  in  the  rescue  of  fugitive  slaves,  he  would 
ask,  'Wasn't  that  Christian?'  He  spoke  to  me  of  a  certain 
scholarly  and  skeptical  English  book  that  he  had  just 
read,  and  asked  me  to  find  and  send  him  some  thorough 
criticisms  of  it  which  he  thought  must  have  appeared  in 
some  of  the  theological  reviews.  'Christianity,'  he  said, 
'is  a  great  moral  power,  the  determining  force  of  our 
present  civilization.  Unbelief  has  written  books,  but  it 
never  lifted  a  million  men  into  a  united  struggle.  The 
battle  for  human  rights  was  finally  fought  on  a  Christian 
plane.' 

"I  heard  him  lecture  on  nine  different  occasions,  begin- 
ning with  the  winter  of  1867,  and  on  none  of  these  was 
there  anything  to  call  forth  his  latent  power.  But  I 
had  learned  by  heart  the  volume  of  his  addresses  pub- 
lished in  1863,  and  I  now  attribute  to  that  early  familiar- 
ity with  his  words,  the  best  part  of  my  knowledge  of  pub- 
lic speech.  Of  course  he  disappointed  those  who  are 
charmed  by  vocal  displays  and  loud  sensationalism,  but 
when  roused,  he  made  men  feel  not  only  the  rhythmic 
beauty  of  his  tones,  of  his  sentences,  and  of  his  manner, 
but  the  moral  greatness  of  the  orator  himself.  Beneath 
the  easy  and  graceful  words  there  was  a  subduing  maj- 
esty and  might.     At  the  close  of  one  of  his  lectures  in 


MASSACHUSETTS  YEARS 137 

New  York,  I  introduced  to  him  my  friend  Alexy,  who 
said,  'How  can  one  speak  so?'  Mr.  Phillips  replied, 
with  that  smile  which  was  sunshine  to  his  friends,  'Have 
it  in  your  heart,  and  then  practice.'  Profound  sincerity 
was  at  the  root  of  his  eloquence,  added,  of  course,  to  some 
of  the  finest  intellectual  gifts  man  ever  possessed,  and 
besides  this  was  the  drill  of  years  of  debate. 

"His  life  and  words  were  joined  into  an  indissoluble 
moral  oneness.  A  colored  minister  once  came  to  me  for 
help  for  his  Church.  I  inquired  if  he  had  seen  Wendell 
Phillips.  His  eyes  rolled,  and  with  wondering  Joy  he 
exclaimed:  'Yes,  and  he  gave  me  fifty  dollars.'  In  a  quiet, 
constant  benevolence,  Mr.  Phillips's  fortune  melted  under 
his  touch.  A  friend  of  mine  saw  him  coming  out  of 
Music  Hall  in  Boston  one  Sunday  afternoon  during  that 
winter  before  the  war,  when  his  life  was  in  perpetual 
peril.  It  seemed  unlikely  that  he  would  reach  home  alive. 
But  his  face  was  radiant  as  if  with  a  martyr's  expectancy 
of  triumph.  I  shall  never  forget  his  amusement  in  relat- 
ing how  a  Boston  mob,  following  him  homeward,  broke 
a  druggist's  window.  Shortly  after,  the  apothecary  sent 
Mr.  Phillips  a  bill  for  the  broken  glass.  It  was  like  re- 
ceiving a  coat  of  tar  and  feathers  from  a  Western  mob, 
and  then  being  required  to  pay  for  the  feathers  and  the 
tar.  In  describing  how  the  eggs  flew  while  he  was  ad- 
dressing a  hostile  meeting  in  Cincinnati,  Mr.  Phillips  said, 
with  child-like  amusement,  'Every  egg  hit,  but  the  eggs 
were  good ;  it  was  in  the  spring  of  the  year.' 

"His  errors  were  the  mistakes  of  one  who  had  been 
taught  to  mistrust  the  organized  selfishness  of  men,  of  one 
who  could  not  be  tolerant  of  wrong,  and  who  must  lift 
his  voice  wherever  it  seemed  to  him  that 

'Freedom  raised  her  cry  of  pain,' 


138 JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

whether  that  cry  came  from  the  shops  of  Lawrence  and 
Lowell,  the  swamps  of  the  Carolinas,  the  hovels  of  Ire- 
land, or  the  ice-dungeons  of  Russia.  My  judgment  has 
not  always  been  his  in  more  recent  years,  but  I  believe, 
with  one  of  his  eulogists,  that  he  deserved  'A  monument 
at  Dublin  and  St.  Petersburg,  as  well  as  at  Charleston 
and  New  Orleans.'  I  once  heard  him  contrast  the  fame 
of  those  who  catch  the  sentiment  of  the  hour  and  are  pop- 
ular in  their  brief  day,  and  the  fame  of  those  purer  and 
more  strenuous  souls  who  reflect  the  mind  of  God  and 
shine  like  the  stars  in  all  the  after  ages.  'The  fireworks,' 
he  said  in  effect,  'fill  the  sky  with  their  blaze ;  a  few  hours 
pass,  and  the  rocket  is  extinguished ;  the  torch  lies  in  its 
own  dust,  while  above  are  Orion  and  the  Pleiades,  eternal 
and  serene.'  Into  the  galaxy  of  unwaning  stars  he  him- 
self has  entered.  He  takes  his  place  with  Hampden  and 
Milton,  with  Algernon  Sidney  and  Sir  Harry  Vane,  with 
Samuel  Adams  and  William  Lloyd  Garrison,  with 
Charles  Sumner  and  Abraham  Lincoln,  with  Kosciusko, 
Kossuth,  and  John  Bright,  with  O'Connell  and  Mazzini, 
with  Victor  Hugo  and  Garibaldi,  among  those  who  have 
grandly  befriended  the  rights  of  man  and  enlarged  the 
shining  area  of  human  freedom." 

It  was  with  regret  that  my  father  thought  of  leaving 
the  manufacturing  city  on  the  Merrimac.  His  work  had 
been  blessed,  his  two  oldest  children  had  been  born  there, 
and  he  had  made  many  life-long  friends.  Yet  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1880,  he  accepted  a  call  to  the  Maverick  Congrega- 
tional Church  of  East  Boston,  where  he  was  installed  in 
December,  Dr.  Alexander  MacKenzie  of  Cambridge 
preaching  the  sermon  from  the  text,  "Let  not  him  that 
girdeth  on  his  harness  boast  himself,  as  he  who  putteth  it 
off."    He  found  his  now  enlarged  life  full  of  interest.    At 


MASSACHUSETTS  YEARS  139 

the  Boston  ministers'  meetings  he  came  in  contact  with 
men  whom  he  admired,  like  Doctors  A.  H.  Plumb,  S.  E, 
Herrick,  J.  L.  Withrow,  William  J.  Tucker  and 
Charlco  F.  Thwing.  Then,  too,  for  this  western  man  a 
glamour  rested  on  New  England's  men  of  fame.  It 
was  pleasant  to  see  Longfellow  and  Lowell  at  public 
assemblies,  to  watch  Amos  Bronson  Alcott  dine  off  lettuce 
at  the  Parker  House,  and  have  a  little  talk  with  him, 
and  to  listen  in  the  street  car  to  Wendell  Holmes,  as 
jumping  about,  he  poked  fun  at  his  seat-mate,  Robert  C, 
Winthrop,  because  Sumner  got  his  statue  first.  His 
chief  hero  of  these  years  was  Emerson,  on  whom  he  had 
called  in  the  summer  of  1874.  The  following  letter  de- 
scribes his  Concord  visit: 

"I  was  a  little  shaken  at  the  thought  of  meeting  the 
very  person  of  him  who  had  filled  my  brain  with  golden 
words.  I  came  to  the  house,  a  large,  two-storied,  fresh, 
brownish-blue  frame  building,  embowered  in  trees.  The 
gate  was  open.  Two  little  girls,  who  had  been  carrying 
milk  there,  were  in  the  large  yard.  They  had  no  fear, 
evidently.  Soon  a  young  man  came  hurriedly  on  the 
piazza,  and  with  a  white  napkin  scared  away  two  red 
dogs.  I  saw  that  the  Concord  sage  must  be  at  tea,  so 
I  walked  back  toward  the  hotel.  I  soon  returned,  how- 
ever, entered  the  gate,  stood  at  the  door,  and  lightly 
rang  the  bell.  Mr.  Emerson's  daughter,  a  girl  of  seven- 
teen, I  think,  came  to  meet  me.  I  asked  for  Mr.  Emer- 
son, gave  my  card,  and  was  politely  ushered  into  the 
library.  I  sat  down  on  a  very  spacious  sofa,  and  looked 
down  at  my  feet.  What  semed  a  red  wolf  lay  there^ 
ready  to  spring  at  me.  It  was  the  queerest  sort  of  a  rug, 
made  of  fur.  I  scanned  the  library,  and  looked  at  the 
pictures.     Right  back  of  me  was  a  striking  portrait  of 


140 JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

Carlyle,  with  his  own  autograph  below.  Soon  Mr.  Emer- 
son entered,  and  he  took  my  hand  cordially  and  broke 
my  heart  by  the  sweetest  smile  that  ever  lighted  a  man's 
face.  He  was  dressed  in  a  dark  gray,  farmer-like  garb. 
There  was  a  boyishness  in  the  old  man's  look  that  told 
of  a  happy  heart,  that  had  never  been  'madly  with  its 
blessedness  at  strife.'  He  asked  if  he  had  ever  met  me 
before.  I  said  'No,  Sir;  my  only  excuse  for  calling  is 
my  gratitude,  and  the  respect  in  which  I  hold  you.'  He 
thanked  me  as  only  the  supreme  gentleman  can,  and  ush- 
ered me  into  his  sitting  room,  where  we  had  an  hour's 
delicious  talk,  about  Springfield  and  Lincoln  first,  then 
about  my  travels,  for  he  soon  learned  that  I  had  just  re- 
turned from  Europe,  then  of  his  travels  in  Egypt,  then  of 
Athens.  I  told  him  of  Marathon,  and  he  was  intensely 
interested  to  learn  that  I  had  seen  the  most  famous  of 
battlefields.  He  didn't  know  that  any  one  could  safely 
visit  it.  He  told  me  of  a  townsman  who  had  returned 
from  Athens,  with  'his  face  illuminated,'  etc.  I  confessed 
to  him  that  after  seeing  Rome  and  Egj^pt  and  the  East, 
I  stood  on  the  Acropolis  and  repeated  his  own  lines : 

'Earth  proudly  wears  the  Parthenon 
As  the  best  gem  upon  her  zone.' 

This  evidently  touched  Mr.  Emerson,  but  'the  wise  nose's 
firm  built  aquiline'  curved  sharper  at  once,  and  the  wise 
old  man  talked  slowly  on,  as  though  he  cared  less  for 
himself  than  his  subject.  He  wanted  to  show  me  some 
large  photographs  of  the  Parthenon,  the  work  of  Mr. 
Stillman,  the  American  Consul  at  Crete.  As  he  did  not 
find  them  at  once,  I  told  him  to  take  no  trouble,  as  I  had 
seen  them.  Mr.  Emerson  talks  in  the  simplest,  most 
deliberate  way,  sitting  'with  eyes  averse'  while  giving  his 


MASSACHUSETTS  YEARS  W 

views  or  speaking  of  himself,  but  turning  with  a  benevo- 
lent smile  toward  you  when  he  asks  you  a  question.  He 
told  me  about  the  burning  of  his  house,  and  then  spoke 
of  Concord,  of  Walden  Pond,  and  talked  long  and  lov- 
ingly of  Thoreau.  I  quoted  Lowell  to  him,  'Thoreau 
studied  nature  like  a  detective  who  was  to  take  the  stand.' 
Emerson  replied,  'Lowell  is  wicked  toward  Thoreau.  I 
have  always  complained  of  his  treatment  of  him,'  etc. 
Then  I  asked  if  Lowell  had  returned.  'Yes,  ten  days 
ago.  I  have  not  seen  him  yet.  We  were  in  Paris  to- 
gether. Lowell  is  a  man  of  great  genius  and  capability.' 
I  spoke  of  Lowell's  'Agassiz'  and  asked  if  this  was  not  the 
best  thing  he  had  done.  'No,  no,'  Emerson  said,  very 
emphatically.  He  told  me  about  hearing  it  at  the  Boston 
Club,  and  then  criticised  it.  He  thinks  the  'Commemora- 
tion Ode'  Lowell's  best  serious  writing.  He  told  me 
about  Concord,  asked  me  where  I  was  going  to  live, 
hoped  that  I  might  make  Concord  my  home  (this  was 
after  I  spoke  of  the  possibility  that  Massachusetts  might 
be  my  home).  As  I  rose  to  go,  Mr.  Em.erson  called  his 
son,  Dr.  Emerson,  a  young  man  of  twenty-two  perhaps, 
and  introduced  me  to  him  with  this  speech:  'Mr.  Bar- 
rows has  travelled  from  Springfield  to  Damascus  and  has 
seen  the  old  world,  and  now  he  wants  to  see  Concord ; 
can't  you  show  him  the  sights  tomorrow?'  The  doctor 
was  more  than  willing.  He  is  to  call  here  at  ten.  'R. 
W.,'  to  quote  the  inn  keeper's  nomenclature,  then  said, 
'li  my  horse  were  not  lame  you  should  have  her,'  and 
spoke  of  his  present  work  (he  is  overlooking  Thoreau's 
manuscript)  as  his  excuse  for  not  oiiFering  his  own  serv- 
ices to  m.e.  Did  you  ever  hear  anything  quite  so  splendid 
as  that?" 

"At  ten  Dr.  E.  W.  Emerson  (whom  I  came  to  know 


142  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

as  one  of  the  nicest  fellows  in  the  world)  called  and  we 
began  work  at  once.  He  took  me  to  the  summit  of  old 
Burying  Ground  Hill,  and  we  sat  down  on  a  brick  tomb, 
while  he  recounted  the  history  of  Concord.  Some  of  the 
tombs  are  of  great  interest.  I  saw  one  belonging  to  a 
person  who  was  born  two  years  after  John  Milton.  That 
seems  like  a  link  connecting  America  with  the  remote 
past.  Then  we  started  down  Battle  Street,  the  doctor 
pointing  out  trees  and  houses  that  were  here  at  the  time 
of  the  Concord  fight.  He  talked  with  great  animation 
and  seemed  pleased  with  my  interest  in  what  he  said.  We 
entered  the  doctor's  office  to  study  a  map,  then  leaping 
a  neighbor's  fence  we  strolled  down  toward  the  Concord 
river,  where,  at  the  bridge,  now  gone,  the  first  resistance 
to  the  English  soldiers  occurred.  Emerson  said,  'In  that 
house,  on  the  right,  there  is  a  copy  of  a  sketch  of  Concord, 
made  by  one  of  General  Washington's  staff;  when  we 
return  we'll  call  in  and  see  it.'  Poor  fellow.  I  attributed 
all  this  to  mere  kindness.  The  result  shows  that  there  is 
much  human  nature  even  in  the  son  of  a  philosopher.  We 
stopped  at  Mr.  Keyes's  house,  as  we  walked  back,  to  see 
the  picture  of  course.  The  young  doctor  didn't  knock, 
but  shouted  up  stairs,  'Annie,  Annie.'  A  vtry  pleasing, 
sensible-looking  New  England  girl  came  down  and  I  was 
introduced.  We  entered  the  parlor  and  young  Emerson 
explained  the  picture,  as  'Annie'  thought  he  could  do  so 
better  than  she.  I  was  looking  at  the  picture,  intently, 
but  I  think  that  the  loving  eyes  of  my  companion  were 
meanwhile  exchanging  the  'right  Promethean  fire.'  As 
we  left,  the  good  physician  squeezed  the  fair  girl's  hand, 
and  she  said,  'Don't  forget  the  bullet-hole.'  So  we  looked 
at  the  old  bullet-hole,  carefully  preserved,  one  of  the 
marks  about  the  house  which  tell  of  its  relations  to  the 


MASSACHUSETTS  YEARS 143 

neighboring  battle-field.  Then  the  Doctor  said,  'I  am 
at  home  in  this  house.  I  am  engaged  to  that  girl.'  If  an 
old  Concord  musket  had  burst  under  my  left  ear,  I  could 
not  have  been  more  shocked.  How  could  he  do  it  ?  Shall 
the  children  of  the  Sun,  the  scions  of  Olympian  divini- 
ties, be  like  the  world's  rabble?  Has  philosophy  bestrid- 
den Emerson's  great  brow  for  sixty  years,  in  vain?  Do 
not  her  old  eyes  weep  to  see  Emerson's  child  after  the 
flesh  fondling  the  soft  hand  of  a  Puritan  girl?  What  is 
the  race  coming  to?  Is  civilization  a  failure?  I  said  to 
myself,  'John,  never  get  engaged.'  I  said  to  Emerson, 
'I  can  sympathize  with  you  perfectly.'  Emerson  and  I 
became  more  cordial.  Then  we  leaped  fences,  and  darted 
into  the  woods,  and  he  told  me  about  Thoreau.  Passing 
through  a  vineyard  of  Concord  grapes,  we  entered  Sleepy 
Hollow  cemetery,  and  soon,  with  foreheads  bare,  we 
looked  on  Hawthorne's  tomb,  and  I  said, 

'November  nature  with  a  name  of  May, 
Whom  high  o'er  Concord  plains  we  laid  to  sleep, 
While  the  orchards  mocked  us  in  their  white  array, 
And  building  robins  wondered  at  our  tears.' 
Near  by  is  Thoreau.     I  send  you  some  souvenirs  from 
Hawthorne's  grave.     It  is  a  charming  spot,  that  where 
'New  England's  poet'  sleeps.     God  has  wiped  the  tears 
from  those  sad  eyes. 

"As  we  started  on,  Emerson  told  me  of  Arthur  Hugh 
Clough,  who  stayed  long  at  his  father's  house.  He  himself 
was  a  boy  then.  I  asked  if  he  agreed  with  Lowell's  esti- 
mate of  him.  'Yes.'  Then  he  said,  'I  have  his  best  poem 
in  my  office.  If  I  had  known  you  were  interested  in  him 
I  would  have  shown  it  to  you.'  Then  he  repeated,  'As 
ships  becalmed.'  We  climbed,  through  thick  brush,  a 
steep  hill,  and  were  in  Hawthorne's  back  yard  and  passed 


144  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

down  Hawthorne's  walk,  to  the  grass  below  and  looked 
up  at  the  house,  where  for  many  years  the  prose-poet 
lived.  We  walked  on  past  Alcott's  house.  Mrs.  Alcott, 
Louisa  M.  and  'May'  were  sitting  under  the  elm  trees 
before  the  mansion.  Emerson  raised  his  hat  and  was 
smiled  on.  He  asked  me  if  I  wanted  to  see  Mr.  Alcott. 
I  said  'No,'  and  we  walked  on.  Then  we  climbed  a  hill 
and  had  a  view  of  Monadnock  and  Wachusett  mountains. 
Then  we  went  back  through  the  cemetery  where  our  jour- 
ney began,  and  the  village  was  'done.'  I  told  Mr.  Emer- 
son that  I  had  never  enjoyed  a  day  in  Europe  better.  He 
was  only  too  glad  to  do  what  he  had,  and  asked  me  to 
come  again  and  go  with  him  to  Walden  Pond." 

In  the  spring  of  1881,  my  father  was  called  to  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Chicago.  Although  this  new 
opening  greatly  attracted  him,  he  felt  bound  to  decline. 
He  had  been  but  a  winter  in  East  Boston,  and  the  Maver- 
ick Church  was  thirty-three  thousand  dollars  in  debt. 
The  Chicago  committee  persisted  in  their  claim,  finally  of- 
fering to  pay  five  thousand  dollars  toward  this  debt,  if 
he  would  come  to  them.  Mr.  Edward  Kimball,  a  famous 
raiser  of  debts,  then  happened  to  be  in  Boston.  With  his 
assistance  the  entire  debt  was  raised  that  summer,  and  my 
father  accepted  the  Chicago  call.  A  garbled  report  of  his 
resignation  got  abroad,  and  the  following  conversation  was 
overhead  at  a  Congregational  installation  where  my  father 
gave  the  sermon.  One  man  said,  on  seeing  a  friend, 
"You  here !  I  didn't  suppose  you  had  ever  stepped  inside 
of  a  Congregational  Church."  "I  never  have,  before. 
I've  come  to  hear  the  man  who  was  paid  five  thousand  dol- 
lars to  leave  that  denomination." 

My  father  once  wrote :  "Directly  in  front  of  my  study 
table  is  a  large  picture  of  my  wife,  and  near  by  are  the 


MASSACHUSETTS  YEARS  i4S 


photographs  of  four  of  my  children,  while  over  to  the  right 
my  eye  falls  on  three  bulky  volumes  called  'The  Life  and 
Public  Services  of  Samuel  Adams.'  There  is  a  clear  and 
straight  line  of  Providence  leading  from  the  second  to 
the  first.  If  it  had  not  been  for  the  volumes,  I  never 
should  have  had  this  wife  and  these  children,  and  should 
never  have  sat  in  this  Chicago  study.  The  greater  part 
of  our  lives  is  beyond  our  control.  We  are  swayed  here 
or  there  by  the  most  trivial  circumstances.  During  my 
last  year  at  college,  I  took  up  the  New  York  Independ- 
ent and  read,  with  great  interest,  a  review  of  Wells's 
'Life  of  Samuel  Adams,'  just  published.  I  soon  got  hold 
of  the  books,  and  was  so  deeply  interested  that  I  took  the 
revolutionary  patriot  as  the  theme  of  my  graduating  ora- 
tion. Three  years  later,  while  living  in  Kansas,  I  devel- 
oped the  oration  into  a  lecture,  and  gave  it  in  the  town 
called  Independence.  In  the  audience  was  a  jnan  who 
had  formerly  lived  in  Springfield,  Illinois,  and  unknown 
to  m.e,  he  kindly  sent  word  to  some  Springfield  friends 
that  the  lecturer  might  make  an  acceptable  preacher  there 
in  the  vacant  pulpit  of  the  First  Congregational  Church. 
This  letter  soon  accomplished  the  wish  which  it  had  ex- 
pressed. After  a  year  or  more  in  Springfield,  I  found  my- 
self possessed  of  money  sufficient  to  warrant  my  going  to 
Europe.  I  resigned  and  was  soon  on  the  deck  of  an  Anchor 
Line  steamship,  where  I  made  the  acquaintance  of  a  Nev/ 
England  teacher  whom  otherwise  I  never  should  have 
met,  and  who,  within  a  few  weeks,  promised  to  join 
forces  with  mine.  While  in  Paris,  I  made  the  acquaint- 
ance of  Mr.  F.,  who  eight  years  later  was  indirectly  the 
means  of  my  being  invited  to  the  First  Presbyterian  pul- 
pit at  Chicago.  For  more  than  twenty  years  the  chief 
events  in  my  life  have  turned  on  an  incident  so  trivial 


146  JOHN   HENRY  BARROWS 

that  but  for  its  effect,  it  might  never  have  been  remem- 
bered. The  first  moral  of  this  story,  of  course  is  this:  Be 
sure  that  your  subscription  to  the  New  York  Independ- 
ent does  not  run  out,  and  the  second  is  even  more  im- 
portant: Do  leave  in  the  Third  Chapter  enough  of  the 
Calvinistic  theology  to  indicate  all  things  are  decreed 
from  eternity,  and  that  man's  freedom  in  his  little  sover- 
eignty is  in  some  way  mysteriously  accordant  with  the 
divine  rule  over  all  things." 

Thus  these  busy  years  came  to  an  end.  He  had  lec- 
tured a  little,  studied  much  to  learn  of  God,  and  had 
scaled,  often  after  slips  and  falls,  some  of  the  chief  obsta- 
cles confronting  a  minister.  Into  his  sermons  had  crept 
a  Puritanic  sternness,  as  if  New  England's  ancient  spirits 
were  besetting  him,  and  few  of  his  listeners  departed, 
unmoved,  when  he  preached  on  God's  retribution  by 
means  of  the  torturing  remembrances  of  an  outraged  con- 
science.   We  quote  from  his  sermons: 

"It  is  said  we  are  living  under  the  warmth  and  light  of 
Divine  Fatherhood ;  we  have  escaped  from  the  wintry 
cold  of  the  doctrinal  teaching  to  which  our  fathers  lis- 
tened in  meeting-houses  where  their  feet  and  hands  were 
half  frozen  with  actual  cold.  We  don't  need  to  hear  of 
death  and  the  Divine  wrath  against  sin.  Let  us  bask  ever 
in  the  sunshine  of  the  Fatherly  love  which  paints  the 
gold  of  the  buttercup  and  the  blue  of  the  sky,  that  bright- 
ens all  our  domestic  life,  that  deepens  and  ennobles  all  our 
earthly  affections,  that  robs  the  grave  of  its  terror  and 
irradiates  all  things  with  blissful  hope.  I  thank  God 
that  we  have  escaped  from  the  dungeon  of  despair,  that 
we  are  learning  that  love  is  a  more  constant  influence  for 
good  than  fear,  and  if  we  can  only  maintain  the  equilib- 
rium of  truth,  not  forgetting  nor  neglecting  any  part  of 


MASSACHUSETTS  YEARS 147 

that  word  which  is  profitable  for  instruction  in  righteous- 
ness, not  casting  aside  the  wholesome  restraints  of  law, 
not  rubbing  off  the  sharp  corners  of  truth  till  it  has  the 
glossy  smoothness  of  a  lie,  if,  I  say,  we  can  still  preserve 
the  sharp  distinctions  which  are  the  basis  of  morality  and 
call  things  by  their  right  names,  good  and  only  good  will 
result  from  the  change  of  emphasis  which  has  come  to 
Christian  teaching.  Summer  is  better  than  winter,  but 
when  you  pass  from  winter  on  Saturday  to  summer  on 
Sunday,  sometimes  the  whole  system  is  unstrung.  Moral 
changes  have  in  some  cases  been  too  sudden. 

"Over  against  our  human  ignorance  is  God's  awful 
eye,  seeing  things  as  they  are.  And  if  the  Holy  Spirit 
should  bring  His  purging  fire  to  men's  vision  of  sin,  and 
the  world  could  behold  its  iniquity  as  contrasted  with  the 
pure  splendor  of  God,  it  may  be  that  a  wail  of  horror, 
drowning  all  of  the  noises  of  Nature  would  shake  the 
expanse  of  heaven.  Every  gambling  hell  in  Chicago  and 
New  York,  every  hall  of  dissolute  revelry  in  London, 
Paris,  or  Vienna,  every  gin  palace  on  the  Thames,  every 
drinking-hole  on  the  shores  of  Lake  Michigan,  every 
church  where  hypocrites  kneel,  every  house  where  god- 
lessness  reigns,  every  den  of  secret  vice,  would  send  out 
its  shrieking  inmates  into  the  streets  and  men  would  pray 
as  though  billows  of  red  fire  were  roaring  after  them, 
'like  masterless  hell-hounds.' 

"Eternal  life,  His  gift,  is  not  merely  some  future  prize 
to  be  won,  and  eternal  death  is  not  merely  some  future 
misery  to  be  escaped.  Life  is  begun  here ;  incipient  per- 
dition is  all  about  us.  The  horror  of  sin  is  not  its  penalty 
but  its  nature;  the  anguish  of  a  lost  soul  is  its  eternal 
loneliness,  its  voluntary  and  perpetual  exile  from  God, 
its  flight  from  the  embrace  of  the  Everlasting  Arms.     Do 


148 JOHN  HENRY  BARRO IVS 

not  speak  about  the  punishment  that  follows  sin;  speak 
rather  of  sin  as  its  own  punishment.  Do  not  separate  sin 
and  hell ;  sinning  against  God  is  hell.  The  wicked  heart 
that  comes  to  know  itself  creates  a  Gehenna. 

"If  we  are  to  have  in  our  land  a  republic  of  God  and 
not  ultimately  a  lair  of  ravening  and  roaring  tigers,  we 
must  stock  our  stores  and  our  caucuses,  our  Boards  of 
Trade,  and  our  council  chambers,  our  legislative  halls  and 
our  executive  mansions,  with  old  Hebrew  righteousness, 
fresh  from  Mount  Sinai.  Our  Christianity  needs  to  get 
a  new  inspiration  from  John  Knox;  it  needs  to  catch  the 
tones  of  thunder  in  which  Savonarola  denounced  the  cor- 
ruptions of  Italy;  it  needs  the  courage  with  which  Paul 
made  Felix  tremble,  and  the  unflinching  eye  with  which 
John  the  Baptist  stood  before  adulterous  Herod;  it 
needs  to  live  at  times  in  the  atmosphere  of  the  statesmen- 
prophets  of  old  Israel;  it  needs  to  take  up,  if  occasion 
requires,  the  scourge  of  small  cords  with  which  the  Lion  of 
the  tribe  of  Judah  drove  the  traffickers  from  the  temple." 

Under  his  preaching,  many  had  entered  the  church. 
He  had  learned  to  penetrate  the  seeming  cant  of  feeble 
minds  and  hearts,  to  the  genuine  warmth  within.  He 
had  practiced  patience  when  at  the  mercy  of  mediocre 
people.  He  had  discovered  the  difficulties  of  making  the 
life  of  the  spirit  real  to  men  of  no  spirituality,  and  the 
comparative  ease  with  which  he  could  touch  the  hearts 
of  those  who  had  caught  glimpses  of  heavenly  visions. 
These  experiences  left  him  less  light-hearted,  slower  to 
judge,  more  compassionate  with  the  weak  and  troubled. 
Yet  in  spite  of  such  sobering  influences,  the  Gospel  that 
he  believed  and  declared,  was  ever  good  tidings.  It  was 
still  manifest  that  the  chrism  of  his  anointing  was  the 
oil  of  gladness. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE    FIRST    PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH    AND    ITS    MINISTER 
1881-1886 

My  father  left  the  Congregational  church  with  regret. 
He  liked  its  stress  upon  independence  and  equality,  its 
strong  personalities,  liberal  theology,  and  progressive  pol- 
icy in  connection  with  social  reforms  and  benevolent 
enterprises.  The  chief  mother  of  American  colleges  and 
contributing  the  original  impulse  to  foreign  missions,  it 
had  held  in  its  ranks  many  of  his  personal  heroes.  If  it 
had  not  settled  the  place  of  its  council,  neither  had  Pres- 
byterianism  the  rights  of  its  elder;  if  it  had  run  off  into 
Unitarianism  in  New  England,  Presbyterianism  in  Eng- 
land had  done  the  same.  Nor  did  the  methods  peculiar  to 
Presbyterianism  at  first  attract  him.  Not  used  to  so  much 
machinery,  he  feared  and  disliked  it.  To  submit  the  rec- 
ords of  his  session  to  the  presbytery  appeared  to  him  un- 
necessary red  tape,  and  the  rebuke  accompanying  their 
return,  because  his  clerk  had  neglected  to  state  that  a 
certain  meeting  opened  with  prayer,  represented  distaste- 
ful surveillance.  Then,  too,  although  he  believed  the 
Westminster  confession  of  faith  to  "contain  the  system 
of  doctrine  taught  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,"  it  held  much 
that  he  did  not  believe,  and  its  emphases  were  by  no 
means  his. 

Nevertheless  he  became  an  enthusiastic  Presbyterian. 
The  theology  of  the  New  School  closely  resembled  that 
which  he  had  learned  from  Mr.  Beecher.  He  found  the 
past,  too,  of  his  new  denomination  inspiring.      He  wrote  in 


ISO  JOHN  HENRY   BARROWS 

1885:  "It  has  a  history  linked  with  the  annals  of  the  ref- 
ormation in  Switzerland  and  France,  in  Holland  and 
Scotland.  Its  story  is  read  by  the  light  of  martyrdoms 
and  of  Puritan  camp-fires ;  it  is  never  forgetful  of  Calvin 
and  Knox,  Coligni,  and  William  of  Orange ;  its  triumphs 
are  associated  with  the  Long  Parliament,  the  Westminster 
Assembly,  and  the  Continental  Congress;  it  numbers 
among  all  who  bear  its  name  two  million  five  hundred 
thousand  communicants,  one  million  of  whom  are  on  this 
side  of  the  sea;  it  has  made  itself  strong  in  the  Middle 
States  and  the  great  middle  classes;  it  has  sent  out  its  mis- 
sionaries to  nearly  every  land ;  it  has  given  to  Biblical  and 
theological  and  philosophical  scholarship  such  names  as 
Edward  Robinson,  Henry  B.  Smith,  Charles  Hodge,  and 
James  McCosh;  it  has  claimed  for  its  pulpit  such  orators 
as  Chalmers  and  Guthrie;  it  has  built  up  great  charities, 
and  rejoices  in  princely  givers  like  Morgan  and  Dodge  and 
Cyrus  H.  McCormick."  Moreover,  after  the  first  he 
heartily  advocated  the  distinctive  policy  of  Presbyterian- 
ism — discovering  in  its  methods  of  church  government 
no  rightful  impediment  to  liberty,  and  a  great  aid  in  re- 
moving friction  in  the  single  church  and  in  preventing 
injustice  to  the  individual  by  furnishing  higher  courts  of 
appeal.  The  strength  of  its  comparative  solidarity,  and 
the  dignity  attached  to  its  great,  smoothly-working  organi- 
zation, pleased  his  conservative  love  of  tradition  and  de- 
corum. In  the  freedom  w^ith  which  it  opened  its  doors 
to  all  believers  in  Christ,  requiring  only  of  its  clergy  and 
elders  acceptance  of  its  standards,  he  thoroughly  believed. 
It  may  be,  too,  that  as  time  elapsed  he  feared  somewhat 
the  danger  of  disintegration  attending  the  greater  radical- 
ism and  looser  organization  of  Congregationalism.  There 
is  a  touch  of  something  more  than  fun  in  his  saying  to 


THE  FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH  151 

the  Congregationalists  of  Chicago,  "I  certainly  think  that 
you  have  too  many  burning  questions  for  your  own 
healthiest  life.  They  make  you  lively  brethren,  but  is 
there  not  peril  of  one-sidedness  and  distortion  in  remain- 
ing for  years  before  such  a  blazing  theme  as  that  of 
Future  Probation?  I  feel  like  giving  the  great  Boanerges 
of  Boston  and  some  others  the  warning  the  boy  gave  to  a 
big,  bow-legged  man  he  saw  standing  before  a  fire  in  a 
hotel  parlor:  'You'd  better  move  away  from  that  fire, 
mister,  you're  a'warpin','  "  Methods  of  church  govern- 
ment, however,  never  seemed  to  him  vital  matters,  and  his 
dominant  life-long  feeling  toward  these  two  denomina- 
tions was  evidently  love  for  both,  delight  in  their  like- 
ness, and  expectancy  of  their  union.  "It  is  pleasant,"  he 
says  of  them,  "to  know  that  we  are  much  alike  and  that 
the  fences  which  separate  us  are  not  made  of  barbed  wire, 
to  get  through  which  would  lacerate  even  a  long-horned 
Calvinist ;  they  are  like  England's  low  walls  covered  with 
ivy,  which  beautify  the  landscape,  and  sweet  hedges  of 
hawthorn  or  yellow  blossoming  furze,  in  which  the 
thrush  and  the  mavis  have  sung  from  the  days  of  Chaucer, 
with  friendly  stiles  here  and  there,  the  haunts  of  lovers, 
who  invite  those  living  on  one  side  to  come  and  live  on 
the  other. 

"There  is  no  need  for  Professor  Phelps  of  Andover  and 
Mr.  Blaine  of  Maine  to  argue  the  desirability  of  organic 
union  between  such  kindred  drops  as  we.  Arguments 
will  not  hasten  what  other  influences  are  accomplishing. 
When  I  see  men  zealously  striving,to  do  what  Providence 
v.ill,  in  His  own  time,  achieve,  I  think  of  that  New 
Yorker  who  was  afraid  he  should  miss  the  ferrj^-boat  he 
wished  to  take.  Just  as  he  reached  the  pier,  he  saw  the 
boat  nearly  ten  feet  away  and  he  leaped  for  it  desperately 


152  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 


and  reached  it,  bunting  his  head  into  a  gentleman's  stom- 
ach, flinging  his  bag  one  way  and  his  umbrella  another, 
and  shouting  Breathlessly,  'There!  I  caught  it!'  'Yes, 
you,  sacred  fool,'  said  a  calm  bystander,  'but  this  boat  is 
coming  in.'  " 

Beneath  some  of  the  pleasantries  of  an  address  that  he 
made  in  '85  before  a  union  meeting  of  the  Baptist,  Con- 
gregational, Methodist,  and  Presbyterian  seminaries  of  the 
city,  lie  both  his  generous  catholicity  and  his  affection  for 
his  own  denomination.  "The  verj^  names  we  bear,"  he 
said,  "indicate  the  fact  of  our  limitations.  'Baptist'  sug- 
gests a  distinctive  form  of  doctrine  with  regard  to  one  of 
the  sacraments;  'Methodist'  a  distinctive  form  of  Chris- 
tian life;  'Congregationalist'  and  'Presbyterian'  distinc- 
tive forms  of  church  government.  Then  each  denomina- 
tion has  suggestive  connections  with  Scripture  without 
finding  its  legend  written  on  ever>'  inspired  page.  One 
carries  on  its  escutcheon  the  name  given  to  the  heroic  fore- 
runner of  Christ ;  another  is  ruled  by  officers  bearing  the 
title,  if  not  precisely  the  functions,  of  the  bishops  of  the 
early  church ;  another  suggests  by  its  organization  the 
simplicitj^  and  brotherly  equality  of  primitive  Christen- 
dom. And  what  shall  I  say  of  my  own  denomination? 
I  was  making  an  address  at  an  ordination  in  this  city  a 
few  years  ago,  in  which  I  referred  to  the  loving  fellow- 
ship of  Paul  and  Peter  and  John  in  the  council  at  Jeru- 
salem, and  the  next  morning  I  discovered  in  one  of  our 
dailies  that  'Mr.  Barrows  had  spoken  ver>'  earnestly  in 
praise  of  the  early  champions  of  Presbyterianism.' 

"These  denominations  are  like  the  four  parts  in  music ; 
each  lovely  by  itself,  but  the  four  together  bringing  out 
the  full  richness  of  the  treasure-house  of  harmony.  If 
the   alto   pathos  belongs  to   the   Methodist,   and   the  so- 


THE  FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH  153 

prano,  so  clear  and  captivating  at  its  best,  though  liable 
to  be  roughened  by  a  New  England  east  wind,  is  the 
sweet  possession  of  the  Congregationalists,  and  the  mel- 
low and  far-reaching  tenor  pertains  to  a  denomination  so 
wide  extending  and  so  ripe  with  age  as  the  Presbyterians, 
the  noble  bass  may  surely  be  claimed  by  the  Baptists, 
whose  voice  mingles  so  grandly  with  the  sound  of  many 
waters.  Let  us  praise  God  for  the  variety  which  delights 
us  in  nature,  and  which  ought  equally  to  delight  us  in 
church  life.  If  the  Methodists,  with  their  order  and  their 
fire,  may  be  likened  to  the  punctual  sun  whose  heat  pre- 
serves our  world  from  death;  the  Baptists  to  the  fresh, 
abounding,  purifying  life  of  the  majestic  ocean;  and  the 
Congregationalists,  with  their  splendid  examples  of  indi- 
vidual development,  and  their  steady  and  surprising  con- 
tributions to  intellectual  life,  to  the  stars  of  heaven — 
perhaps  the  Presbyterians  are  the  blue,  the  illimitable 
blue,  which  overarches  the  sea,  and  in  which  even  the 
sun  and  stars  move  and  shine!" 

Doubtless  his  heart  was  warmed  to  his  new  denomina- 
tion by  the  "First  Presbyterian  Church  during  the  four- 
teen years  that  he  presided  over  it.  At  the  time  of  his 
installation,  December  8,  1881,  its  membership  was  be- 
tween eight  and  nine  hundred.  Among  its  supporters 
were  many  strong  men,  some  of  them,  like  D.  K.  Pear- 
sons and  Marshall  Field,  of  national  reputation;  old 
settlers,  whose  force  and  sagacity  had  overcome  great 
obstacles,  and  scores  of  younger  members  who  were 
closely  connected  with  the  upbuilding  of  Chicago ;  men 
and  women  of  varied  talent,  devoted  to  the  church  and 
ready  to  cooperate  with  a  leader  who  should  possess  large 
ideals  for  them,  their  city,  and  their  country.  Among 
them  were  some  men  of  great  generosity,  and  m.y  father 


IS4 JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

loved  to  tell  how,  after  presenting  the  cause  of  a  cer- 
tain mission  church  to  one  of  these,  he  received  fifty  dol- 
lars, with  the  remark,  'I  wish  it  were  two  hundred  and 
fifty,  but  the  church  you  ask  for  is  the  fifth  church  to 
which  I  have  subscribed  this  morning." 

And  that  the  church  held  a  place  of  historic  interest  in 
the  community  did  not  lessen  its  attractiveness  for  him. 
The  first  of  its  ecclesiastical  records  reads  "1833,  May  30. 
About  thirty  professing  Christians  in  the  garrison  brought 
from  Sault  Ste.  Marie  to  this  place  landed  on  the  13th 
of  May,  with  the  Reverend  Jeremiah  Porter,  pastor." 
From  this  record  my  father  perceived  that  the  church 
would  soon  complete  fifty  years  of  history.  His  sugges- 
tion that  this  semi-centennial  be  observed  met  with  enthu- 
siastic response,  and  on  June  24,  1883,  large  numbers  of 
former  members,  all  of  its  living  ministers,  including  Mr. 
Jeremiah  Porter,  and  many  friends  assembled  to  do  honor 
to  the  past.  The  service  was  beautiful,  with  special  deco- 
rations and  music,  including  a  festival  hymn  by  Mr. 
Philo  A.  Otis.  We  quote  from  my  father's  interesting 
and  comprehensive  historical  sermon : 

"Mr.  Porter  brought  with  him  to  Chicago,  in  1833,  as 
many  Christians  as  were  then  to  be  found  at  that  fron- 
tier post.  Previous  to  this,  on  the  19th  of  August,  1832, 
Mr.  Philo  Carpenter,  with  three  other  earnest  Christians, 
had  begun  a  Sunday  School,  the  first  that  was  established 
in  Northern  Illinois,  except  one  opened  by  that  heroic  mis- 
sionary, Reverend  Aratus  Kent,  in  a  dram  shop  in  Ga- 
lena." After  Mr.  Porter's  coming,  in  order  "to  accom- 
modate both  soldiers  and  citizens,  preaching  .services  were 
held  for  some  time  both  at  Fort  Dearborn  and  at  Father 
Walker's  cabin  at  Wolf's  Point.  This  scheme  was  un- 
satisfactory,  and  Mr.   Porter  advised  the  erection  of  a 


THE  FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH  155 

frame  building,  suggesting  that  subscriptions  made  toward 
his  support  should  go  toward  the  church  edifice.  This 
plan  was  adopted,  a  building  committee  was  appointed 
June  II,  and  application  was  made  to  the  Home  Mis- 
sionary Society  for  Mr.  Porter's  support.  On  June  26, 
the  church  was  organized,  adopting  the  covenant  and 
articles  of  faith  of  the  Presbytery  of  Detroit.  Sixteen 
persons,  four  of  them  women,  were  received  from  the  gar- 
rison ;  five  men  and  five  women  were  received  from  Chi- 
cago." This,  the  oldest  church  organization  in  Chicago, 
though  starting  from  such  humble  beginnings,  had  played 
a  large  part  in  the  city's  life.  In  an  important  sense  it 
had  been  the  mother  of  the  Second,  Third,  and  Fourth 
Presbyterian,  and  the  Plymouth  Congregational  Churches. 
During  its  history  it  had  enrolled  more  than  three  thou- 
sand communicants.  Probably  no  church  in  the  West  had 
contributed  so  largely  to  missions  and  benevolences.  Its 
church  edifice  being  swept  away  by  the  fire  of  1871,  it 
had  united  with  the  Calvary  Church  and  moved  soufh  to 
the  corner  of  Indiana  Avenue  and  Twenty-first  Street. 
The  famous  trial  of  Professor  David  Swing  for  heresy, 
on  charges  brought  by  Professor  Francis  L.  Patton,  was 
held  in  1874  in  its  lecture  room,  its  minister.  Dr.  Arthur 
Mitchell,  acting  as  moderator.  Under  Dr.  Mitchell,  too, 
its  large  mission,  the  Railroad  Chapel,  was  rebuilt  at  an 
expense  of  seventy  thousand  dollars,  and  placed  under  the 
charge  of  Mr.  Charles  M.  Morton. 

On  the  next  three  days  of  the  semi-centennial  celebra- 
tion large  meetings  were  held  at  which  former  pastors 
and  representatives  of  other  churches  and  denominations  ' 
gave  reminiscent  and  congratulatory  addresses.  The 
many  columns  the  newspapers  devoted  to  these  gather- 
ings suggest  their  great  local  interest.     Among  the  trib- 


156  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

utes  that  the  Church  received,  this  selection  from  Pro- 
fessor Swing's  address  may  be  taken  as  an  example  and 
close  our  account  of  this  anniversary : 

"During  my  seventeen  years  in  Chicago,  no  quarrel  in 
the  choir,  no  difficulty  with  the  sexton,  no  flat  note  from 
the  soprano  or  tenor,  no  poor  sermon  or  good  one  from 
the  pastor  or  from  the  supply,  no  analysis  of  the  mental 
forces  of  the  pulpit  of  this  First  Church  has  ever  failed 
to  come  sooner  or  later  to  my  willing  or  unwilling  ear. 
Nothing  is  more  visible  than  a  church.  The  steeple  is  no 
more  conspicuous  than  the  necktie  of  the  clergyman  or 
the  half-minute  doze  of  an  elder. 

"This  church  has  borne  well  this  strong  light,  more 
searching  than  electric.  There  are  some  men  and  women 
who  look  best  when  the  lights  are  dim  in  the  parlor  and 
when  there  are  red  globes  to  create  for  a  half-century  face 
the  flush  of  an  earlier  date ;  and  others  there  are  whose 
faces  would  suggest  that  the  lamps  be  not  lighted ;  but 
we  meet  this  evening  in  the  parlors  of  a  creature  that 
need  not  fear  the  full  beams  of  open  day." 

In  February,  1883,  my  father  enlarged  the  work  of 
his  church  by  opening  Sunday  evening  preaching  services, 
in  Central  Music  Hall  on  the  corner  of  State  and  Ran- 
dolph streets.  These  services,  costing  about  three  thou- 
sand, seven  hundred  dollars  a  year,  and  supported  by  the 
generosity  of  about  thirty  members  of  his  First  Church 
congregation,  were  continued  for  four  winters  with  ex- 
traordinary success.  Three  years  after  their  inauguration 
he  thus  described  their  purpose,  to  the  ministers  of  Boston : 
"We  endeavor  to  reach  a  class  of  people  who  do  not  go 
to  the  evangelistic  services  in  Farwell  Hall  or  to  any 
of  the  mission  enterprises  of  the  city.  And  we  succeed. 
The  effort  is  to  make  the  service  largely  educational  and 


THE  FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH  157 

attractive  to  the  more  thoughtful  class.  The  best  homi- 
letic  work  which  I  am  capable  of,  I  do  not  hesitate  to 
bring  before  my  miscellaneous  congregation  at  the  Hall. 
Its  quality  averages  well  with  that  in  our  churches. 
I  have  spoken  on  such  themes  as  'God  and  Science,' 
'Man's  Need  of  God,'  'Religion  and  Human  Progress,' 
'Revelations  of  Nature  Concerning  the  Divine  Existence 
and  Character,'  'Reasons  for  Regarding  the  Scriptures  as 
a  Divine  Revelation,'  'Miracles,'  'Justification  by  Faith,' 
'Difficulties  of  the  Bible,'  'Popular  Objections  to  the 
Bible,'  'Modern  Missions  as  an  Evidence  of  the  Truth  of 
Christianity,'  etc.  The  reason  that  these  services  have 
more  than  held  their  own  after  three  years,  in  my  judg- 
ment, is  that  we  have  endeavored  to  make  them  reach 
such  people  as  I  have  described.  Temporary  and  more 
showy  results  might  have  been  achieved,  possibly,  by  a 
different  method  from  that  pursued."  Not  only  was  the 
Hall  seating  twenty-three  hundred  filled,  but  often  hun- 
dreds were  turned  away.  Those  in  attendance  were, 
for  the  most  part,  non-churchgoers,  and  his  preaching  did 
much  to  bridge  the  chasm  between  the  church  and  the  un- 
evangelized.  Wholesome  Christian  impressions  were 
given  to  many  thousands  in  the  turmoil  of  intellectual  un- 
rest. Personal  testimonies  by  the  hundred  gladdened  my 
father's  heart.  Although  no  after  meetings  were  held, 
scores  of  persons  reported  to  him  their  intention  to  begin 
to  lead  Christian  lives.  Their  stories  would  probably 
fill  a  book.  By  accident  he  learned  of  one  reckless  youth 
accustomed  to  spend  his  Sunday  evenings  in  places  of 
dissipation,  who  was  induced  one  Sunday  to  attend  the 
Central  Music  Hall  service,  of  which  he  had  heard  so 
much  at  the  Palmer  House.  Going  two  Sundays  in 
succession,  he  was  "cut  down,"  as  he  said,   and   formed 


iS8  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

the  purpose  to  live  a  Christian  life.  As  a  result  of  his 
changed  ideals,  eight  young  men  in  the  office  where  he 
worked  were  led  to  unite  with  the  church.  This  work 
was  commended  by  religious  papers  all  over  the  country 
and  many  ministers  wrote  to  learn  of  "Dr.  Barrows's 
methods."  These  were  very  simple.  As  many  of  his 
audience  came  half  an  hour  early  to  get  seats,  he  caused 
to  be  distributed  at  the  doors  each  week  two  thousand 
printed  slips,  with  the  hymns  for  that  evening  upon  one 
side;  on  the  other,  extracts  from  Christian  writers,  let- 
ters from  Mark  Hopkins  and  Dr.  Storrs  stating  why 
they  believed  in  Christianity,  facts  about  the  progress  of 
the  Church,  and  names  of  good  books  on  the  Evidences  of 
Christianity.  The  case  is  known  of  a  young  man  thus 
led  to  buy  Father  Lambert's  "Notes  on  Ingersoll,"  and 
by  this  induced  to  give  up  infidelity.  Most  of  the  slips 
were  read  and  taken  home,  some  were  sent  to  mothers  far 
away,  thus  becoming,  as  my  father  said,  "bearers  of 
comfort  as  well  as  of  healing."  He  believed,  too,  in  con- 
gregational singing  as  an  effective  means  of  bringing  the 
Divine  life  to  men,  and  in  this  the  assistance  of  a  large 
chorus  and  of  Mr.  William  L.  Tomlins,  the  distinguished 
conductor,  in  leading  the  singing,  did  much  to  secure  the 
desired  results.  To  preach  in  a  public  hall  is  like  trying  to 
warm  men  with  a  fire  out  of  doors.  Yet  some  way  Cen- 
tral Music  Hall  seemed  to  forget  the  opera  singers  and 
diamonds  and  cold-hearted  gayety  of  its  weekly  audiences, 
as  hushed  and  solemn  it  saw  my  father  touch  men's 
hearts  and  consciences.  He  was  an  "evangelical,"  not 
an  "evangelistic"  preacher.  He  revered  truth  too  deeply 
to  be  sensational,  but  "evangelical"  and  "dull"  were  not 
synonyms  in  his  vocabulary.  Through  his  sincerity,  wis- 
dom,  and   eloquence,   he  could   bring  home    old   truths. 


THE  FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH  159 

Brimful  of  his  theme  and  speaking  without  notes,  he 
won  his  audience,  and  of  the  results  of  this  preaching  no 
estimate  is  possible. 

In  1883,  also,  public  attention  was  less  pleasantly 
turned  to  him.  That  summer  Mr.  Beecher  came  to 
Chicago  to  lecture.  Calling  on  his  old  friend  one  Satur- 
day, and  learning  to  his  surprise  that  Mr.  Beecher  had  no 
engagement  to  preach  the  next  day,  my  father  naturally 
invited  him  to  occupy  his  pulpit.  Mr.  Beecher  accepted 
at  once,  and  preached  for  an  hour  and  ten  minutes  the 
next  morning  before  a  full  house.  To  the  greater  part 
of  his  sermon  the  most  conservative  old  school  Presby- 
terian could  find  no  objection,  but  with  questionable  taste 
he  took  occasion,  early  in  the  hour,  to  attack  violently 
several  Calvinistic  dogmas.  As  efforts  were  at  that  time 
being  put  forth  to  effect  an  organic  union  between  the 
Northern  and  Southern  branches  of  the  Presbyterian 
church,  Mr.  Beecher's  "unorthodox"  preaching  in  a 
Northern  Presbyterian  pulpit  happened  most  inopportune- 
ly and  evoked  much  indignant  comment.  The  Central 
Presbyterian  and  St.  Louis  Presbyterian  vehemently 
berated  my  father  for  offering  his  pulpit  to  such  a  man, 
cited  his  action  as  a  good  reason  for  opposing  the  union 
of  the  Northern  and  Southern  churches,  and  kept  the 
matter  for  some  time  before  the  public.  One  writer  to 
the  St.  Louis  Presbyterian  stated:  "Every  minister  I  saw 
during  the  week — and  they  were  many — was  deeply  in- 
dignant at  and  sorely  criticised  Dr.  Barrows's  action.  I 
venture  to  say  that  his  influence  in  the  Northwest  is  at  an 
end."  His  church,  conscience,  and  liberal  minded  friends, 
however,  stood  by  him.  He  had  a  way  of  winning  hearts, 
and  in  1885  Dr.  Gray  wrote  in  the  Interior: 

"The  pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  is  the 


i6o  JOHN  HENRY   BARROWS 

beloved  disciple  among  the  ministers  of  Chicago.  He  is 
so  full  of  kindliness  and  gentleness  and  good-will  for  every 
class,  condition,  and  type  of  man,  and  of  belief,  that  he 
has  been  regarded  as  deficient  in  silex.  He  is  not  the  man 
to  be  put  in  commission  when  Agag  is  to  be  hewn  in 
pieces.  But  when  anything  for  the  promotion  of  brother- 
ly love  or  for  the  amelioration  of  sorrow  or  of  destitution 
or  of  despair  is  to  be  done,  they  send  for  Brother  Barrows. 
Men  of  his  type  are  hard  to  start  on  the  war-path,  but 
still  harder  to  stop.  Possibly  he  might  be  so,  though  we 
think  he  would  be  hard  to  start  and  easy  to  stop.  As  an 
orator — in  the  sense  usually  conveyed  by  that  word — he 
has  no  superior  in  the  pulpit  of  Chicago,  of  any  denomi- 
nation. A  rich,  full,  elevated,  picturesque,  sympathetic 
tide  of  thought — a  spoken  anthem — is  his  style.  He  in- 
dulges in  the  most  genial  humor,  which  *'-'ckles  and 
tickles  down  through  the  audience,  and  stays  with  them, 
and  they  laugh  gently  over  it  when  they  think  of  it  for 
a  day  or  two.  Dr.  Barrows  is  tall  and  slender,  and  not 
rugged  in  appearance,  but  he  appears  to  bear  the  heavy 
strain  which  the  pastors  of  the  leading  churches  must 
endure,  about  as  well  as  his  physically  more  stalwart 
brethren.  We  wonder  whether  such  kindly  men  do  not 
have  a  better  time  of  it  in  life  than  those  who  shove  their 
way  by  main  force?  Is  it  not  something  like  a  ship  with 
a  sharp  prow,  gentle  curves,  and  a  propeller  that  works 
smoothly  beneath  the  surface,  and  does  not  rise  to  the  top 
and  lash  the  waves  into  foam?  We  think  so.  And  yet 
we  suppose  that  it  requires  less  to  give  them  pain  than  it 
does  the  men  who  give  blows  freely,  and  expect  to  take 
them.     However  it  may  be,  here 

'Blessings  on  your  gentle  pow, 
John  Anderson,  my  jo.'  " 


THE  FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH  i6i 

Compared  with  later  years  this  early  period  of  his  Chi- 
cago ministry  was  not  crowded  by  the  pressure  of  outside 
demands.  Still  the  boundaries  of  his  parish  steadily  ex- 
tended; we  find  him  lecturing  and  preaching  more  often 
outside  of  the  city;  giving,  for  example,  addresses  at  the 
convention  of  the  American  Sunday-school  Union  in 
Newark,  New  Jersey,  and  in  Music  Hall,  Boston,  at  the 
celebration  of  the  seventy-fifth  anniversary  of  the  Ameri- 
can Board  of  Foreign  Missions. 

Of  these  years  the  winter  of  1886  was  the  busiest  part. 
In  January,  Professor  David  Swing,  who  had  withdrawn 
from  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  1874,  and  at  the  head  of 
the  Central  Church,  an  independent  organization,  had 
continued  his  ministry  ever  since,  completed  his  twentieth 
year  as  a  Chicago  minister.  He  had  reached  the  widest 
audiences  up  to  that  time  accorded  to  any  American 
preacher,  and  though  preaching  no  dogmas,  had  by  his 
spirit  of  faith,  hope,  and  love,  raised  thousands  from 
despair  into  serene  and  lovely  living.  It  was  natural 
enough,  therefore,  that  four  hundred  of  Chicago's  most 
distinguished  citizens  should  gather  at  a  banquet  in  the 
Palm.er  House  to  do  him  honor.  It  was  also  right  that 
my  father,  who,  although  his  theological  views  were  quite 
other  than  Professor  Swing's,  appreciated  and  loved  him, 
should  make  one  of  the  chief  speeches  in  his  honor,  saying 
among  other  things,  "He  has  been  a  high  priest  of  the 
beautiful  in  the  midst  of  our  Philistinism,  an  influential 
preacher  of  the  value  of  the  ideal  in  a  prosperous  com- 
munity which  is  supposed  to  appreciate  the  art  of  wrestling 
and  the  art  of  butchering  swine  and  the  art  of  'fixing' 
election  returns  far  more  than  Lessing's  'Laocoon'  or  the 
'Seven  Lamps  of  Architecture.'  Professor  Swing,  let  me 
close   these   remarks  by   a   recognition   not  only  of   your 


i62  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

services  to  the  higher  life  of  this  community,  but  by  an 
expression  of  the  kindly  feelings  of  that  group  of  your 
friends  whom  I  represent.  Dr.  Hodge  of  Princeton  once 
wrote:  'Old  controversies  of  opinion  are  passing  out  of 
view — I  dread  being  estranged  from  any  who  really  love 
and  worship  our  common  Lord  and  Saviour.'  Our  differ- 
ences have  not  estranged  us,  and  you  will  allow  me  to 
give  you  this  benediction,  'May  the  light  of  the  true  and 
the  fair  and  the  good  ever  shine  on  your  brightening  path, 
till,  returning  late  to  heaven,  you  shall  see  the  King  in 
His  beauty.'  " 

For  thus  praising  a  man  theologically  "unsound,"  my 
father  was  severely  criticised,  one  paper  referring  to  him 
as  a  "truckling  Iscariot."  Not  simply  anonymous  letter 
writers,  but  some  of  his  esteemed  fellow  ministers  could 
see  in  his  action  nothing  but  a  compromise  wiiii  his  faith, 
one  of  them  writing:  "In  this  desperate  fight  against  the 
world,  the  flesh,  and  the  devil,  in  which  some  of  us  have 
been  looking  to  you  for  help,  in  these  times  of  fashion, 
gayety,  and  greed,  you  have  turned  your  guns  upon  us. 
However  unwittingly,  it  seems  to  me  that  you  have  dealt 
our  common  faith  a  blow  in  this  cit>'  that  every  enemy  of 
evangelical  Christianity  will  rejoice  over,  and  from  which 
it  will  be  a  long  time  in  recovering."  My  father  thought 
quite  otherwise.  He  was  always  an  enigma  to  men  ad- 
hering to  systems,  too  literally  logical  to  allow  for  the 
spirit  blowing  where  it  listeth. 

Probably,  though,  no  one  in  Chicago  that  winter  worked 
harder  for  evangelical  Christianity  than  he.  The  city  was 
so  full  of  anarchistic  and  atheistic  sentiment,  the  churches 
so  spiritually  dull,  that  the  Presbyterian  ministers  met 
together  for  several  all-day  prayer-meetings.  My  father 
preached  to  his  people  on  spiritual  crises  and  revivals,  and 


THE  FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN   CHURCH  163 

held  extra  services,  with  the  assistance  of  Mr.  W.  W. 
Newell,  Jr.,  of  the  McCall  Mission,  Paris.  In  February, 
the  ministers  on  the  South  Side,  determining  to  unite  their 
efforts  to  awaken  the  consciences  of  the  large  numbers 
unreached  by  the  Church,  called  the  Georgian  evangelist, 
Sam  Jones,  to  their  aid,  and  inaugurated  a  series  of  meet- 
ings in  the  Casino  Skating  Rink,  on  State  and  Twenty- 
fourth  Streets.  So  far  as  attendance  and  the  genius  of  the 
speaker  went,  these  meetings  left  little  to  be  desired.  Ten 
thousand  people  a  day  often  listened  to  Mr.  Jones's  match- 
less wit  as  he  urged-  them  to  "quit"  their  "meanness." 
The  after  meetings,  too,  were  crowded,  and  my  father  was 
one  of  those  who  worked  night  after  night  till  morning 
answering  questions  and  trying  to  help  those  who  swarmed 
about  him.  In  this  work  the  South  Side  ministers  stood 
valiantly  together,  j'et  it  was  far  from  being  an  un- 
qualified success.  Mr.  Jones's  jokes  were  often  coarse, 
sometimes  almost  blasphemous.  Rich  and  fashionable 
churches  were  his  favorite  butt,  and  consequently  he  not 
only  so  antagonized  church  members  that  they  speedily 
withdrew  their  support,  but  so  affected  his  converts  that 
they  were  often  loth  to  join  the  available  churches.  On 
the  whole,  the  meetings  did  good,  hundreds  found  Christ, 
and  my  father  never  regretted  giving  his  strength  to  them. 
But  they  did  harm,  too,  and  for  months  he  and  his  fellow- 
workers  were  the  targets  for  criticism.  When  Mr.  Jones 
departed,  the  difficulties  of  following  up  his  work  were 
such  that  my  father  and  Mr.  F.  G.  Ensign  sought  out 
Mr.  Moody.  They  found  him  in  Charlotteville,  Vir- 
ginia, and  only  with  the  greatest  difficulty  persuaded  him 
to  come  to  Chicago.  Mr.  Moody's  meetings,  as  he  had 
expected,  were  sparsely  attended,  and  by  a  class  of  people 
whom  Mr.  Jones  had  never  touched.     It  was  a   relief,       ^ 


i64  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

therefore,  when,  because  of  anarchist  disturbances,  all  large 
public  gatherings  were  disbanded. 

It  happened  one  Saturday  afternoon,  after  the  long 
strain  of  this  revival  work,  that  my  father  took  up  the 
manuscript  of  the  sermon  he  had  written  that  morning, 
and  could  not  recall  writing  it.  This  strange  lapse  of 
memory  was  only  temporary ;  but  it  indicated  so  complete 
a  nervous  breakdown  that  his  people  forced  upon  him  a 
six  months'  vacation.  Some  of  the  experiences  of  these 
months,  spent  for  the  most  part  in  Europe,  we  shall  sug- 
gest in  a  later  chapter.  Their  chief  result  was  the  re- 
newed energy  with  which  he  again  shouldered  his  work, 
in  October,  1886. 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE    MINISTER    OF    THE    FIRST    PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH 
1886-189I 

"A  great  pastorship,"  writes  Phillips  Brooks,  "is  the 
noblest  picture  of  human  influence,  and  of  the  relationship 
of  man  to  man  which  the  world  has  to  show.  It  is  the 
canonization  of  friendship.  It  is  friendship  lifted  above 
the  regions  of  mere  instinct  and  sentiment  and  fondness, 
and  exalted  into  the  mutual  helpfulness  of  the  children 
of  God." 

These  words  truly  describe  mj'^  father's  relation  to  his 
people.  About  his  means  of  bringing  help,  there  is  noth- 
ing unusual.  The  musical  interests  of  the  church,  for 
years  in  the  hands  of  the  distinguished  organist,  Mr. 
Clarence  Eddy,  always  had  my  father's  warm  support. 
While  he  kept  the  sermon's  place  supreme,  he  found  any- 
thing that  beautified  the  service  a  good  lens  wherewith  to 
see  God.  He  says  in  one  sermon:  "Take  away  music 
from  the  house  of  God  and  from  the  Christian  home,  and 
you  remove  that  which  stirs  our  best  emotions,  lifts  heaven- 
ward our  best  petitions,  and  teaches  young  and  old  the 
most  spiritual  truth.  The  Christian  life  of  the  world  has 
been  preserved  not  so  much  in  sermons  and  printed  prayers 
as  in  hymns.  And  perhaps  the  service  rendered  this  day 
to  the  Lord  our  Maker  and  Redeemer,  which  is  given  in 
sacred  song,  is  ampler  and  purer  than  that  which  has  come 
from  the  teachings  of  Christian  pulpits."  And  in  another 
he  asserts,  "A  piety  that  discards  all  forms,  symbols,  and 
visible  helps  Is  in  danger  of  evaporation." 


i66  JOHN  HENRY   BARROWS 

Annuallj^  or  semi-annually  he  sent  out  a  printed  letter 
impressing  upon  his  people  their  spiritual  needs.  During 
some  years  he  taught  a  weekly  Bible  class  for  men,  and  a 
catechism  class  for  children,  and  his  touch  was  felt  on 
the  manifold  organizations  of  the  Church.  He  started  a 
Christian  Endeavor  Society,  and  was  its  most  loyal  sup- 
porter. 

On  his  return  from  Europe  in  1886,  the  Central  Music 
Hall  work  was  abandoned.  Financial  difficulties  were  in 
the  way,  since  a  large  sum  was  needed  for  the  erection  of 
a  new  Railroad  Chapel.  From  1889  to  1891  he  held 
evening  preaching  services  in  his  own  church.  The  audi- 
ences were  always  large  and  hundreds,  at  times,  were 
turned  away;  one  of  his  church  members  complained  that 
if  something  wasn't  done  to  reduce  trie  evening  audiences 
the  new  carpets  would  be  worn  out! 

Although  without  regular  paid  assistants,  he  shifted 
many  of  the  activities  of  the  church  upon  other  shoulders. 
In  this  way  he  both  trained  earnest  and  able  workers,  and 
rarely  let  mere  routine  close  the  door  of  his  soul,  which, 
to  his  thinking,  should  be  ever  left  ajar  for  those  heavenly 
guests  that  come  "without  observation."  He  once  reports 
making  six  hundred  calls  in  a  year,  no  trifling  task  in  a 
constantly  shifting  parish  stretching  from  Monroe  street 
to  Hyde  Park;  on  the  sick,  troubled,  and  dying,  his  calls 
were  always  many;  yet  they  grew  constantly  fewer. 
Preaching  was  his  mission,  and  in  his  creed  it  was  poor 
economy  to  keep  a  race-horse  continually  plowing. 

He  came  strangely  close  to  his  people.  A  social  gather- 
ing often  followed  upon  the  Wednesday  evening  prayer- 
meeting.  Here,  as  in  a  large  family,  he  recounted  his 
hopes  and  fears,  shared  his  travels,  vacations,  and  reading. 
Testimonies  are  countless  of  his  leaving  those  who  had 


MINISTER  OF  THE  CHURCH  167 

been  cynical  and  weak,  sanguine  and  courageous.  He  be- 
lieved in  men  and  women.  There  was  a  healing  and 
tonic  happiness  about  him  that  made  the  air  electric  as  he 
passed. 

Some  of  his  experiences  he  thus  recounts : 

"It  is  hard  to  look  over  my  record  of  marriage  services 
without  continuous  merrim.ent,  as  memory  recalls  this  and 
that  amusing  incident  or  mistake.  I  think  of  the  couple 
whom  I  called  by  wrong  names,  saying,  'Do  you,  George?' 
and  'Do  you,  Martha?',  when  I  was  really  addressing 
'John'  and  'Jane'.  In  hurriedly  glancing  over  the  license 
I  had  read  the  names  of  the  bride's  father  and  mother, 
instead  of  the  bride  and  groom.  Then  I  recall  the  mar- 
riage where  the  groom  saluted  the  bride  with  a  sonorous 
kiss  at  the  close  of  the  service,  and  then,  in  his  hymeneal 
ecstasy,  exclaimed  in  a  voice  heard  by  the  entire  congre- 
gation, 'Wasn't  that  a  smacker?'  I  think  of  the  awkward 
father  of  a  certain  bride,  who  was  himself  nearly  seven 
feet  tall,  and  who  tried  to  kneel  when  his  daughter  knelt, 
and  who  required  help,  after  the  benediction,  to  bring  him 
to  his  feet  again.  I  remember  my  brother-in-law,  who 
forgot  his  trunk,  and  for  four  weeks  after  marriage  forgot 
to  pay  the  wedding  fee.  I  think  of  the  loving  groom  who 
came  to  m.y  house  to  be  wed,  and  who,  after  the  cerem.ony, 
tenderly  remarked,  'Jennie  has  no  friends  here,  Doctor, 
and  I  should  be  so  glad  if  you  would  kiss  her.'  I  think  of 
the  young  man  in  church  who  walked  with  five  other 
young  men  up  one  aisle,  while  the  bride  and  five  other 
young  ladies  walked  up  the  other  aisle,  the  two  forming 
a  straight  military  line  before  the  altar,  and  who,  when  I 
whisperingly  asked  him  his  first  name,  replied  in  loud 
tones,  *I  do' ;  and  who,  at  the  close  of  the  service,  took 
out  a  ten-dollar  bill  and  presented  it  in  the  presence  of  the 


i68 JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS ^ 

entire  congregation.  I  recall  a  summons  one  evening  to 
a  humble  home  on  Cottage  Grove  avenue,  where  Emma, 
a  servant  in  the  household,  was  to  be  married  to  a  German 
mechanic.  I  took  off  my  fur  cap  and  my  rubbers,  and 
two  boys  found  huge  sport  in  playing  with  them  while  the 
mother  vainly  strove  to  preserve  order.  All  were  waiting 
for  somebody;  the  man  of  the  house  had  not  returned. 
Emma  and  her  German  lover  sat  on  the  black,  horse-hair 
sofa  holding  hands.  I  endeavored  to  keep  up  the  con- 
versation, and  soon  found  unexpected  help.  A  tight-bodied 
little  woman,  looking  as  if  she  had  stepped  out  of  one 
of  Dickens's  stories,  came  in  and  sat  down,  and  immedi- 
ately piped  out,  'Dr.  Barrows,  I  think  marriage  is  a  very 
interesting  episode.'  I  agreed  with  he/,  and  soon  discov- 
ered that  she  was  a  widow  of  ten  years'  standing,  or  wait- 
ing. Soon  a  young  iceman,  with  his  trousers  in  his  boots, 
walked  in  and  shook  hands  all  around,  remarking  that  he 
was  'sorry  he  hadn't  time  to  fix  up.'  After  awhile  there 
was  a  noise  in  the  back  room — a  strange,  wheezy  sound — 
which  indicated  that  the  man  of  the  house  had  returned 
intoxicated.  His  friends  tried  to  exclude  him,  but  he 
came  in  and  drew  a  chair  close  to  where  I  was  sitting. 
The  service  was  now  ordered  and  all  were  in  evident 
anxiety  lest  the  new-comer  should  interrupt  it.  I  finally 
got  Emma  and  the  bridegroom  properly  placed  and  began 
my  address,  which  was  interrupted  by  loud  whoops  from 
the  jovial  inebriate.  I  struggled  along  until  I  came  to 
the  prayer,  which  I  unfortunately  introduced  with  the 
Lord's  Prayer.  I  had  scarcely  begun  its  familiar  words 
when  the  intoxicated  chorus  called  out,  'Chestnuts, 
chestnuts;'  and  what  happened  after  that  I  scarcely 
knew,  except  that  poor  Emma,  when  the  service 
was  over,  threw  herself  on  the  sofa  and  burst  into  tears. 


MINISTER  OF  THE  CHURCH  i6g 

I  walked  home  that  night  something  of  a  Prohibitionist. 
"Marriages  recall  funerals,  as  they  are  often  recorded 
in  the  same  book.  A  few  years  ago  a  famous  Chicago 
lawyer  named  O.  died  in  the  house  next  my  own.  He 
had  been  notoriously  successful  in  saving  thieves  and  mur- 
derers from  justice.  He  had  been  a  man  of  exceedingly 
vicious  life,  though  for  a  year  or  two  he  had  drank  little. 
He  was  divorced  from  his  wife  and  had  been  living  with 
a  daughter  who  had  been  trained  in  the  Presbyterian 
church.  He  had  had  the  very  slightest  acquaintance  with 
Professor  Swing.  The  landlady  of  the  house  where  he 
died  was  anxious  to  make  the  funeral  a  very  great  occa- 
sion. She  wanted  sermons,  she  said,  both  from  Professor 
Swing  and  myself.  I  consented  to  take  some  part  in  the 
services  for  the  sake  of  the  daughter,  but  confessed  I  did 
not  want  to  make  any  remarks.  Professor  Swing  called 
at  my  house  before  the  service  and  said,  'Barrows,  we  have 
rather  a  tough  job  on  hand.'  I  assented,  but  told  the 
Professor  that  I  was  confident  he  could  pull  the  case 
through  if  anybody  could.  I  asked  to  have  the  simplest 
part  of  the  exercises,  the  reading  from  the  Scriptures,  and 
the  Professor  offered  to  furnish  me  some  appropriate 
selections.  We  entered  the  house  of  death  together.  The 
rooms  were  crowded,  largely  with  ex-convicts,  escaped 
criminals.  I  sat  next  to  one  of  the  most  famous  murder- 
ers in  Chicago.  The  time  came  for  the  service  to  begin, 
and  I  read  the  selections  offered  me,  the  first  of  which 
did  not  seem  altogether  appropriate :  'Blessed  are  the  dead 
that  die  in  the  Lord.'  After  the  reading,  the  landlady 
sitting  at  the  piano  in  the  back-parlor  started  the  hymn, 
'Nearer  my  God  to  Thee,'  expecting  the  congregation  to 
join  in,  but  the  words  were  not  familiar  to  the  Assembly, 
and  soon  the  music  died  out.     Then  the  Professor  began 


170  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

his  remarks  in  his  low,  quiet,  almost  inaudible  tones. 
Those  on  the  stairway  and  in  the  hall  could  not  hear,  and 
the  landlady,  feeling  that  the  occasion  had  not  reached  the 
impressive  dignity  which  she  coveted,  came  forward  and 
asked  the  gentle  Professor  to  stand  in  the  entrance  of  the 
hall  and  speak  louder.  He  quietly  declined.  His  remarks, 
as  I  remember  them,  were  about  these:  'Neither  Brother 
Barrows  nor  I  had  much  acquaintance  with  Brother  O. 
I  met  him  once  at  a  railroad  station  about  two  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  when  I  had  to  wait  for  awhile,  and  we 
talked  together  of  the  general  truths  of  Christianity  and 
I  found  he  was  sound  in  regard  to  the  ordinary  tenets  of 
religion.'  This  testimony  of  Brother  Swing's  to  Brother 
O.'s  soundness  was  very  comforting  to  my  spirit.  Then 
Professor  Swing  continued:  'Brother  O.  did  not  profess 
to  have  attained  unto  faith,  he  was  striving  to  attain  faith ; 
that  is  what  we  are  all  striving  for.  The  old  orthodox 
tenets  of  religion  are  fast  disappearing.  God  is  no  longer 
thought  of  as  a  God  of  fear,  but  as  a  God  of  love.  What 
we  all  need  is  a  God  of  love.  I  read  of  a  man  who  was 
walking  through  a  valley  in  Wales.  It  was  called  'Para- 
dise Vale,'  and  the  little  birds  came  out  of  the  grass  and 
out  of  the  bushes  and  out  of  the  trees  and  lighted  on 
this  man's  head  and  on  his  clothes.  Why  did  these  little 
birds  do  this?  Because  the  man  loved  little  birds.  God 
is  love.  I  read  an  article  not  long  ago  in  the  Popular 
Science  Monthly,  called  'The  March  of  the  Million.'  It 
represents  a  million  persons  setting  out  in  life  together, 
and  after  five  years  fifty  thousand  are  gone.  After  ten 
years  a  hundred  thousand  are  gone.  After  fifty  years 
five  hundred  thousand  are  gone.  Friends,  Brother 
O.  was  one  of  the  five  hundred  thousand.  We  believe  he 
has  at  last  attained  unto  faith.     'God  is  love.'     After  a 


MINISTER  OF  THE  CHURCH  171 

few  words  of  prayer  by  the  Professor,  one  of  the  criminals 
present  laid  his  hand  on  Brother  O.'s  forehead  and  said  to 
me,  'You  didn't  know  him?'  I  modestly  answered,  'No.' 
'He  was  a  good  man,'  said  this  jail-bird,  on  whose  ugly 
countenance  all  the  vices  had  stamped  their  feet.  As  we 
came  out,  I  said  to  the  Professor,  'I  must  confess  that 
you  are  equal  to  such  an  occasion,  and  did  far  better  than 
I  could  have  done.'  Several  months  later  Professor  Swing, 
meeting  me,  said,  'We  seem  to  meet  usually  at  funerals; 
what  a  pity  we  cannot  attend  each  other's  obsequies.'  I 
certainly  could  not  ask  for  a  gentler  critic  of  my  faults 
than  the  eulogist  of  Brother  O.!" 

During  these  years  the  Presbyterian  Church  was  consid- 
ering the  advisability  of  revising  the  Westminster  Con- 
fession. In  the  discussion  my  father  took  a  prominent 
part.  So  rapidly  is  religious  history  made  that  this  con- 
troversy is  already  an  old  story,  but  in  the  eighties  its 
outcome  was  doubtful,  and  the  opposition  to  men  of  his 
views  and  courage,  strong.  His  position  is  shown  by  these 
citations  from  sermons  and  speeches  before  his  congrega- 
tion and  the  Chicago  Presbytery. 

"I  do  believe  that  our  confession  of  faith  is  now,  and 
has  been  in  the  past,  a  hindrance  to  the  progress  of  the 
Kingdom  of  Christ,  Professor  Goldwin  Smith  once  re- 
marked to  a  friend  of  mine  that  in  his  judgment  the  Pres- 
byterian church  of  America  would  have  three  times  its 
present  strength  if  it  had  not  persisted  in  carrying  a  mill- 
stone around  its  neck  in  the  shape  of  the  confession.  We 
know  that  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church  broke 
off  from  us  because  of  the  teachings  of  the  third  chapter 
regarding  the  decree  of  reprobation  or  preterition.  We 
know  that  we  have  been  at  a  serious  disadvantage  wn'th 
other  denominations  in  commending  our  doctrine  to  the 


172  JOHN   HENRY   BARROWS 

popular  mind,  and  the  present  discussion  will  show  that 
inside  the  church  there  has  been  so  much  of  drifting  and 
departure  from  the  Westminster  standards  that  they  do 
not  fairly  represent  the  convictions  of  to-day.  The  time 
is  coming,  if  it  is  not  already  here,  when  improved  Biblical 
science  will  demand  from  us  a  better  and  broader  inter- 
pretation of  the  Scriptures.  There  will  be  less  of  the  let- 
ter and  more  of  the  spirit.  Many  things  which  the  Chris- 
tian spirit  condemns  have  been  defended  by  the  letter  of 
Scripture,  and  the  Church  of  Christ  has  suffered  on  ac- 
count of  it.  We  rightly  believe  some  things  that  are  not 
expressly  taught  in  the  Scriptures,  and  under  the  inspira- 
tion of  Christian  truth  we  come  to  better  judgments  of 
Christian  doctrines  as  a  whole.  We  need  a  confession  that 
shall  make  the  impression  upon  us  which  is  made  by  the 
words  of  Christ:  'How  often  would  I  have  gathered  ye, 
but  ye  would  not ;'  and  by  the  words  of  Paul :  'God,  our 
Saviour,  willeth  that  all  men  should  be  saved.'  We  want 
a  confession  that  is  not  out  of  harmony  with  the  teach- 
ing of  that  early  reformer  who  wrote:  'Our  salvation  is 
from  God,  our  perdition  is  from  ourselves.'  If  the  final 
outcome  of  these  years  of  intelligent  and  charitable  Chris- 
tian discussion  shall  be  a  new  creed  which  we  can  heartily 
proclaim,  it  will  express  a  living  faith  that  will  give  our 
churches  and  our  pulpits  a  new  spiritual  power.  It  is 
better  to  believe  a  few  things  thoroughly  than  to  hold  a 
confession  that  weighs  down  many  minds  with  a  deal  of 
theological  lumber." 

"Dr.  Patton,  in  his  masterly  and  classic  argument 
against  revision,  may  quietly  sneer  at  the  doctrine  of  the 
Christian  consciousness  as  'a  modern  compound  of  Hegel 
and  Schleiermacher,'  but  the  fact  remains  that  the  Chris- 
tian consciousness  is  the  joint  product  of  the  Holy  Spirit 


MINISTER  OF  THE  CHURCH  173 

and  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  makes  it  impossible  for  any 
minister  in  Chicago  to  defend  chattel  slavery,  and  impos- 
sible for  Dr.  Patton  to  use  before  Presbyterian  congrega- 
tions to-day  such  pictures  of  the  'infants  of  Turks  and 
Saracens'  tormented  in  hell-fire,  or  such  portraitures  of  the 
'damned  boiling  in  dungeons  of  everlasting  brimstone,' 
with  black  and  terrible  devils  pricking  them  with  long  and 
sharp-toothed  forks,  as  were  made  by  some  of  the  authors 
of  the  Westminster  Confession,  We  live  in  a  different  at- 
mosphere— an  atmosphere  created  by  Christianity,  by  bet- 
ter conceptions  of  Christian  doctrine  and  larger  apprehen- 
sions of  God's  loving  kindness.  It  is  certain  that  many 
who  have  hope  for  revision  are  now  feeling  that  revision 
alone  would  be  inadequate  and  unsatisfactory.  Undoubt- 
edly the  confession  as  it  now  stands  is  a  logical  and  consist- 
ent document,  and  if  it  is  to  be  slashed  and  altered  accord- 
ing to  the  multitudinous  views  of  all  who  are  expressing 
their  minds  about  it,  we  shall  have  an  amended  confession 
which  its  original  authors  would  scarcely  recognize,  and 
which  they  certainly  would  repudiate.  I  do  not  think  it 
is  honoring  the  Westminster  divines.  I  should  vastly  pre- 
fer to  keep  the  confession  as  it  is.  I  would  not  remove 
it  from  the  place  it  now  occupies  in  our  history,  but  I 
would  have  a  supplementary  and  shorter  statement,  giving 
what  the  Presbyterian  church  of  to-day  believes  are  its 
essential  and  necessary  articles.  A  standard  which  allows 
four  different  interpretations  to  one  clause  does  not  defi- 
nitely state  our  present  beliefs.  We  need  a  supplementary 
creed  in  order  to  be  square  with  the  world  and  with  our- 
selves; we  need  it  to  dampen  some  of  the  most  effective 
ammunition  of  infidelity;  we  need  it  to  explain  what  we 
deem  the  essentials  of  our  system,  and  to  bring  into  the 
light  some  things  which  the  standards  have  left  in  ob- 


174  JOHN   HENRY   BARROWS 

scurity.  We  also  need  a  new  creed  as  a  manual  of  in- 
struction and  a  manifesto  to  the  world.  I  have  been 
greatly  grieved  that  on  account  of  the  confessional  barrier 
certain  beloved  and  honored  brethren  are  kept  out  of 
the  eldership,  and  I  am  well  aware  that  many  are  unwill- 
ing to  enter  the  church  as  members  because  it  is  anchored 
to  the  doctrinal  statement  from  so  much  of  which  they 
dissent.  They  are  unwilling  to  seem  affiliated  with  doc- 
trines which  they  reject  because  they  do  not  deem  them 
a  fair  interpretation  of  the  Scriptures.  There  are  Chris- 
tians in  our  congregations  and  not  in  our  churches;  they 
number  multitudes  of  our  best  givers,  our  wisest  coun- 
selors, our  most  respected  fellow-citizens,  and  truest  rep- 
resentatives of  some  parts  of  the  Christian  life. 

"The  new  creed  which  I  ^advocate  should  be  a  basis 
for  popular  instruction — should  declare  the  Church's  be- 
lief to  the  world.  It  ought  to  have  the  excellence  of 
brevity,  the  attractiveness  of  moderation  in  its  claims 
on  belief,  and  the  blessed  power  which  belongs  to  the 
supreme  and  central  truths  of  revelation.  And  why 
should  a  church  which  is  going  forth  to  conquer  India, 
China,  and  Japan  for  Christ  carry  in  her  hand  beside  the 
Word  of  God  anything  less  worthy  than  a  fresh  and 
modern  statement  of  essential  truth  ?  I  acknowledge  that 
for  the  people  generally  the  supplementarj^  creed,  if  it 
ever  comes,  will  utterly  take  the  place  of  the  Westminster 
Confession.  It  ought  to;  this  will  be  a  great  gain.  I 
should  not  like  to  see  any  seventeenth  century  theological 
yoke  placed  on  the  rising  churches  of  the  missionary  world 
or  on  the  coming  generations  in  Christian  lands.  Who 
gave  the  Westminster  divines  any  such  authority  that 
their  work,  which  undoubtedly  contains  the  substance  of 
Christian    truth,    should    remain    unmodified    and    unex- 


MINISTER  OF  THE  CHURCH  175 

plained  as  the  last  test  of  theological  soundness?  Why 
should  we  not  trust  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  church  of 
Christ  to-day?  Why  should  we  not  attempt,  in  connec- 
tion with  other  Presbyterian  churches  it  may  be,  to  arrive 
at  a  formula  which  shall  omit  the  offensive  parts  of  the 
Westminster  Confession,  and  set  forth  in  modern  language 
its  essential  truth?  The  great  trouble  with  the  offensive 
parts  of  the  Westminster  Confession  is  not  that  texts  of 
Scripture  cannot  be  found  that  apparently  sustain  them, 
but  that  they  cannot  be  rationally  used  for  the  practical 
purposes  of  the  pulpit.  There  are  dogmas,  as  Professor 
Phelps  has  remarked,  'which  have  a  place  in  historic 
creeds,  *  *  *  *  \vhich  in  systems  of  divinity  can 
be  made  plausible,  but  which  in  contact  with  real  life 
fade  out  of  man's  faith.  They  do  not  constitute  a  work- 
ing theology  and  they  never  did.'  Now,  among  such 
doctrines  are  the  doctrine  of  reprobation,  and  the  doctrine 
that  to-day  men  are  in  any  sense  guilty  of  Adam's  sin ; 
that  on  account  of  it,  irrespective  of  their  own  evil  acts, 
they  are  justly  liable  to  eternal  damnation.  Men  do 
feel  under  the  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  and  of  divine 
truth  the  corruption  of  their  own  nature;  they  do  feel 
the  need  of  divine  renewal ;  but  when  you  attempt  to 
bring  them  into  responsible  connection  with  Adam's  sin, 
you  confuse  the  judgment  and  weaken  the  power  of  the 
pulpit.  I  once  heard  President  Dwight,  of  Yale  College, 
say  that  he  knew  of  a  man  who  had  been  taught  that  he 
ought  to  repent  not  only  of  his  own  sins,  but  of  the  sins 
of  his  ancestors,  clear  back  to  the  father  of  the  race.  But 
he  said  he  had  so  many  of  his  own  to  repent  of,  that  he 
would  begin  at  his  end  of  the  line  and  probably  be  com- 
pelled to  stay  there  the  rest  of  his  life.  Dr.  Schaff  says 
that  the  Westminster  theologj'  condemns  the  whole  race 


176  JOHN   HENRY   BARROWS 

to  everlasting  woe  for  a  single  transgression  committed 
without  our  knowledge  or  consent  six  thousand  years  ago. 
No  wonder  the  church  of  to-day  shrinks  from  it. 

"There  are  some  things  which  we  believe  so  intensely 
and  absolutely  that  they  ought  to  constitute  the  substance 
of  our  creed.  We  believe  in  God,  personal,  infinite, 
eternal,  and  triune,  and  we  desire,  as  the  colored  preacher 
said  of  Dr.  Emmons's  preaching,  'to  m.ake  him  big  to 
human  thought,'  to  exalt  him  as  Calvinism  has  always 
done.  We  believe  in  God's  infinite  love  to  all  his 
creatures,  and  would  see  this  made  as  prominent  and 
supreme  in  a  confession  of  faith  as  it  is  in  modern  preach- 
ing. We  believe  that  Christ  is  the  light  that  enlighteneth 
every  man  that  cometh  into  the  world ;  that  in  every  na- 
tion he  that  feareth  God  and  worketh  righteousness  is 
accepted  of  him.  We  believe  thoroughly,  also,  in  man's 
lost  estate,  in  the  need  of  divine  deliverance  and  the  uni- 
versal working  of  God's  spirit,  and  that  Christ  is  the 
divine  Son  of  God,  equal  with  the  Father,  who  hath  made 
a  propitiation  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world.  We  do  not 
believe  that  any  sinner  who  turns  penitently  and  believ- 
ingly  toward  the  divine  mercy,  even  if  he  is  so  unfortunate 
as  not  to  have  heard  of  Jesus  Christ,  will  be  cast  into 
hell  and  sufier  'unspeakable  torment  in  soul  and  body 
without  intermission  forevermore.'  We  believe  in  the 
decisive  character  of  this  life,  in  its  influence  on  the  con- 
ditions of  eternity,  and  therefore  we  are  greatly  in  earnest 
that  men  should  accept  salvation.  We  believe  that  the 
Gospel  bears  down  with  tremendous  force  on  the  duty 
of  immediate  repentance  and  faith,  and  that  if  anj  are 
lost  it  is  because  they  will  not  turn  and  live.  We  do 
not  believe  that  because  all  men  will  not  accept  our 
church  and  our  creed  or  our  interpretation  of  the  Word 


MINISTER  OF  THE  CHURCH  177 

we  can  have  little  hope  of  such.  While  evangelically 
earnest,  we  are  evangelically  charitable  and  hopeful.  We 
believe  most  thoroughly  that  Christ  is  a  sufficient  Saviour 
for  all  mankind,  that  the  Gospel  was  meant  for  all,  and 
that  it  should  be  carried  to  all.  Caring  less  for  philoso- 
phizing than  did  our  fathers,  we  believe  that  the  preach- 
ing which  builds  up  the  soul,  as  well  as  saves  the  soul,  is 
Biblical  preaching.  We  believe  that  the  new  creed  should 
keep  closer  than  the  old  to  essentials  and  not  bristle 
against  other  Christians.  It  should  be  an  olive  branch, 
not  a  sword.  We  believe  the  law  of  Christian  life  in  the 
Church  and  in  the  individual  is  growth,  expansion. 
While  holding  settled  beliefs  they  should  be  settled  not 
like  a  rock  which  cannot  be  moved,  but  like  an  oak,  which, 
rooted  deep  in  the  soil,  has  the  principle  of  life  within  it 
and  rises  and  expands  and  throws  its  giant  arms  on  every 
side.  We  believe  in  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  that  it  is  dis- 
honoring Him  to  doubt  that  He  is  able  to  lead  the  Church, 
and  to  inspire  even  a  heavenlier  and  more  perfect  wisdom 
than  that  which  our  fathers  gained.  We  believe,  with 
Dr.  Alexander  of  New  York,  that  the  nineteenth  century 
is  nearer  to  Christ  than  the  seventeenth  century.  Many 
of  us  believe,  with  Reverend  Dr.  James  Candlish,  pro- 
fessor of  theology  in  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland,  that 
'The  Westminster  Confession  in  many  parts  has  ceased  to 
be  a  statement  of  the  vital  truths  of  Christianity  in  a  form 
suitable  and  intelligible  to  the  mind  of  the  present  day.' 
We  believe  that  the  Confession  ought  to  be  modified  or 
supplemented,  since  it  now  as  popularly  apprehended 
seems  to  teach  the  horrible  dogma  that  God  from  eternity 
has  foredoomed  the  great  mass  of  his  children  to  eternal 
torment,  passing  them  by  and  leaving  them  no  possibility 
of   redemption   on   account  of   the   failure   of   their  first 


178  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

parents,  Christ  not  dying  for  them,  and  they  unable  by 
conforming  their  lives  ever  so  diligently  to  the  light 
of  nature  to  come  within  the  power  of  his  redeeming 
mercy.  Moreover,  we  believe  that  the  time  is  swiftly 
coming  when  a  growing  demand  for  the  union  of  Chris- 
tendom must  lead  to  practical  results.  We  believe  that 
the  elaborate  metaphysical  and  in  some  respects  offensive 
creed  of  the  seventeenth  century,  unexplained  and  un- 
changed, is  a  hindrance  to  the  fulfillment  of  Christ's  last 
prayer.  The  Presbyterian  Church  has  in  some  respects 
the  best  form  of  government  of  any  of  the  denomina- 
tions. It  is  a  mediator  between  them.  It  has  strong 
affiliations  with  the  Congregationalists  on  one  side,  and 
with  the  Methodists  and  Episcopalians  on  the  other.  I 
believe  that  it  will  be  far  better  equipped  for  the  work 
before  it  if  it  presents  to  the  world  a  simpler  theology. 
Let  the  Westminster  Confession  occupy  its  honored  place 
in  our  seminaries ;  let  it  stand  unchanged  as  a  grand 
landmark  of  Puritan  theolog>\  But  may  we  not  wisely 
take  steps  which  shall  lead  to  the  theological  consensus 
of  the  reformed  churches?" 

In  the  spring  of  i8go,  the  Chicago  Presbytery  voted 
for  revision,  but  the  idea  of  a  supplementary  creed  had 
little  following  there  or  elsewhere.  Only  a  year  from 
the  next  fall,  however,  it  voted  for  a  new  creed,  and 
eleven  years  later  my  father  rejoiced  that  he  had  lived  to 
read  that  creed  and  witness  its  peaceable  adoption  by  the 
General  Assembly. 

His  tenth  anniversarj'  sermon  gives  the  chief  facts 
concerning  the  growth  and  work  of  the  church  under  his 
leadership.  "Since  1881  there  have  been  twelve  hundred 
and  twenty-seven  members  added,  eight  hundred  and 
twenty-seven  of  whom  come  by  confession  of  faith.     In 


LEISURE  HOURS m 

these  ten  years  the  church  has  raised  and  expended  eight 
hundred  and  thirty-nine  thousand  dollars,  a  large  portion 
of  it  for  public  charities  of  every  sort.  Men  are  begin- 
ning to  learn  that  wealth  comes  from  God  and  that  he 
expects  them  to  use  it  for  good  works.  In  the  first  five 
years  of  this  decade  this  Church  gave  one  hundred  and 
thirty-nine  thousand  dollars  in  charities,  in  the  second  five 
years,  five  hundred  and  thirty-four  thousand  dollars,  nearly 
four  times  as  much." 

A  large  measure  of  success,  fair  health,  joy  in  his  wife 
and  in  his  five  children,  in  friends  and  in  work,  were 
surely  his.  Just  as  certainly  was  his  life  one  of  heavy 
responsibility  and  almost  unremitting  labor,  saddened  by 
his  father's  death,  by  the  sin  about  him,  by  the  indifference 
of  others  to  his  ideals,  or  their  censure  of  his  methods,  by 
his  temptations  to  lower  his  standards,  and  the  frequent 
condemnations  of  his  sensitive  conscience.  Those  near 
him  knew  by  the  light  he  radiated  that  he  was  walking  the 
way  of  the  cross;  for  such  as  he  there  is  none  other,  and 
whether  its  thorns  or  rocks,  steeps  and  pitfalls  be  few 
or  many,  it  is  the  way  of  blessedness. 

But  in  order  to  know  rightly  either  his  personality 
or  his  achievement,  we  must  examine  his  leisure,  his 
preaching,  and  his  connection  with  civic,  national,  and 
international  movements  toward   righteousness. 


CHAPTER  X 

LEISURE    HOURS 

Men  like  Charles  Lamb  and  Matthew  Arnold  are 
known  only  apart  from  their  daily  round ;  it  is  not  the 
city  clerk  or  the  school  examiner  that  we  count  dear,  but 
the  writers  of  Dream  Children  and  Dover  Beach.  My 
father  was  particularly  fortunate  in  his  vocation.  It 
elicited  his  best.  Yet  even  with  him,  the  office  imposed 
somewhat  of  its  own  nature  upon  its  holder ;  and  we  must 
see  him  disassociated  from  it. 

Early  in  the  summer  of  1886,  he  and  my  mother  paid 
their  first  visit  to  Ireland.  In  Killarney  they  met  an  old 
man,  who,  pointing  out  the  mountain  that  held  on  its  sum- 
mit a  lake  called  the  Devil's  Punch  Bowl,  said :  "There's 
an  island  in  the  lake  where  the  Devil  spends  his  nights 
when  he  comes  to  drink.  It's  the  only  bit  of  ground  he 
owns  in  these  parts,  and  it's  enough.  Sir."  At  Blarney  they 
learned  from  the  driver  that  the  treasure  there  hidden 
would  never  be  recovered  until  four  hundred  black  horses 
with  no  white  hair  among  them  should  be  collected  to  re- 
move it;  the  sad  conclusion  being,  "and  we've  never  been 
able  to  get  them  together.  Sir."  It  seemed  to  them  that 
in  contrasting  the  Irish  peasants  with  the  tillers  of  the 
soil  in  Illinois,  they  found  in  the  one  case,  destitution, 
pathos,  and  yet  cheerfulness,  in  the  other  brutal  plenty, 
but  a  sort  of  low  discontent.  After  a  glance  at  the  In- 
ternational Exposition  in  Liverpool,  they  journeyed  to 
London.  Here  in  June  my  father  addressed  the  Mild- 
may  Conference  in  Mildmay  Hall,  where  a  large  audi- 


LEISURE  HOURS  i8i 

ence  received  him  with  enthusiasm.  To  secure  the  perfect 
quiet  that  he  was  seeking,  he  refused  further  invitations 
and  did  not  present  his  letters  of  introduction.  He  wrote 
from  London  to  his  brother  Walter: 

"Mr.  Gladstone's  magnanimity  and  unselfishness  lift 
him  as  much  above  his  opponents  as  his  intellectual  su- 
periority. The  comic  papers  are  as  brutal  here  over 
the  'old  man's  fall'  as  any  papers  in  America  ever  were  in 
similar  circumstances.  One  thing  has  struck  me  in  the 
English  elections — viz. — the  great  mass  of  people  who 
have  no  concern  in  them.  This  makes  it  impossible  to 
have  outward  demonstrations,  parades,  and  so  forth,  so 
common  with  us. 

"The  ministers  here  are  very  active  in  politics.  Even 
in  the  Mildmay  Conference  they  couldn't  help  praying 
politics.  One  man  told  the  Lord  all  about  the  danger  of 
yielding  to  the  'damnable  system  of  Rome,'  and  assailed 
England  for  her  manifold  sins,  in  the  style  of  an  Irish 
dynamiter.  Canon  Farrar  preached  a  sermon  against 
Gladstone  on  the  fourth  of  July  as  bitter  as  any  of  his  ser- 
mons against  the  liquor  traffic. 

"The  greatest  preacher  now  living  in  my  judgment  is 
— shall  I  say  it? — Dr.  Parker  of  the  'Temple.'  And 
yet,  I  should  say  greatest  only  in  some  things.  He  hasn't 
the  popular  powers  of  Beecher,  the  evangelical  unction 
and  earnestness  of  Spurgeon,  the  rhetorical  captivation  of 
Farrar,  the  Ciceronian  eloquence  of  Storrs,  the  scriptural 
instructiveness  of  William  M.  Taylor, — but  he  has  such 
a  combination  of  good  qualities  that,  unaccustomed  as 
I  am  to  him,  I  should  delight  more  to  hear  him,  at  least 
for  a  time,  than  any  preacher  I  know." 

Of  Stratford,  he  writes :  "Seldom  in  my  life  have  I 
had  so  vivid  a  feeling  and  so  sweet  a  certainty  of  immor- 


i82  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

tality,  as  when,  full  of  the  thoughts  of  Shakespeare,  I 
wandered  through  the  little  Warwickshire  city  that  gave 
him  birth  and  where  rises  the  slim  spire  of  the  church 
under  whose  pavement  his  body  lies.  Who,  knowing  his 
mind  and  wandering  over  the  fields  which  he  loved  three 
centuries  ago,  could  think  of  Shakespeare  as  dead?  To 
me  he  almost  seemed  to  live  in  the  life  of  my  own  soul, 
and  in  the  sunshine  which  fell  on  the  outstretched 
meadows," 

The  Isle  of  Wight,  too,  brought  emotions  that  he  has 
recounted :  "While  there  I  read  again  the  story  of  the 
Dairyman's  Daughter,  written  by  Leigh  Richmond,  who 
was  a  rector  in  one  of  the  parishes  of  that  beautiful  island. 
The  life  of  a  Christian  servant-girl,  who  knew  so  much 
of  Christ  and  who  died  so  victorious  a  death,  has  been 
read  in  millions  of  copies  in  Great  Britain  and  America. 
It  has  been  translated  into  most  of  the  European  lan- 
guages, and  a  Russian  version,  made  by  a  Russian  princess, 
found  its  way  into  the  palace  of  the  Czar,  who  expressed 
his  gratitude  by  a  valuable  gift  to  the  author.  Elizabeth 
Walbridge,  the  dair>'man's  daughter,  lived  in  the  humble 
parish  of  Arreton,  about  eight  miles  from  where  we  were 
visiting.  Pilgrims  in  great  numbers  from  all  Christian 
lands  resort  to  that  lowly  grave  over  which  friends  have 
erected  a  simple  stone  with  an  inscription  which  begins: 

'Stranger,  if  e'er  by  chance  or  feeling  led 
Upon   this  hallowed   ground  to  tread. 
Turn   from   the  contemplation   of   this  sod 
To  think  on  her  whose  spirit  rests  with  God.' 

"We  determined  to  visit  Arreton  by  ourselves.  In  the 
twilight  we  rode  along  the  perfect  highways,  between 
the  hedgerows  having  wide  views  of  verdant  fields  and 


LEISURE  HOURS  183 

ivy-clad  walls,  with  occasional  glimpses  of  the  sea  which 
separates  the  island  from  the  Hampshire  coast.  There 
on  our  right  were  the  two  towers  of  Osborn  Palace,  the 
Queen's  dwelling  for  three  months  of  the  year,  and  where 
she  then  was. 

"The  twilight  was  deepening  as  we  looked  down  on 
the  lowly  church  of  Arreton,  almost  hidden  in  the  vale. 
A  walk  across  the  fields  and  over  the  stiles  soon  brought 
us  to  the  grave  we  had  come  so  far  to  see.  There  we 
were  alone,  and  we  read  the  inscription  and  prayed  that 
the  Lord  would  incline  our  hearts  to  walk  more  humbly 
in  the  paths  of  the  meek,  who  are  to  inherit  the  earth. 
The  twilight  shade,  which  is  not  deep  in  these  northern 
latitudes,  was  brightened  by  the  'star  which  ushers  even- 
ing in,'  and  we  did  not  forget  that  they  that  are  wise 
shall  shine  as  the  brightness  of  the  firmament,  and  they 
that  turn  many  to  righteousness  as  the  stars  forever  and 
ever.  Do  not  such  graves  as  this  make  old  England 
sacred?  Do  not  such  graves  as  this  teach  us  the  worth 
and  worthiness  of  the  human  soul  beyond  all  the  pageants 
of  history?" 

The  dull  routine  of  Ems  and  Schwalbach  occupied 
most  of  August  and  September,  but  for  this,  a  week  in 
Holland  compensated.  He  wri*-es:  "The  little  land, 
with  its  picturesque,  winged  towers  that  tell  how  a  saga- 
cious and  indomitable  people  yoked  the  storm-wind  into 
their  combat  with  the  waves,  and  with  its  gaily-colored 
boats  and  its  painted  houses  within  which  domestic  com- 
fort and  the  goddess  of  cleanliness  are  worshipped,  is  still 
so  notable  that  the  proudest  traveler  may  well  doff  his 
hat  to  the  humblest  Dutchman  he  meets,  for  he  stands 
before  the  representative  of  a  race,  which  more  than  any 
other  since  time  began,  excepting  only  the  Hebrew,  illus- 


i84  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS  

trates  the  power  of  the  human  soul  to  suffer,  to  dare,  and 
to  conquer."  His  chief  experience  in  this  land  he  thus  de- 
scribed some  few  years  later:  "Rembrandt  gave  me  the 
most  considerable  intellectual  sensation  that  I  remember 
ever  to  have  received.  Many  of  us  seek,  and  long  in 
vain,  to  find  the  embodiment  of  our  own  spirit  in  the 
domain  of  art.  Fifteen  years  ago,  I  made  some  incursions 
into  the  world  of  pictures,  in  the  galleries  of  England 
and  Belgium,  France  and  Italy.  I  had  been  greatly  im- 
pressed, and  slightly  oppressed,  by  what  I  had  seen.  In 
my  memories  of  miles  of  canvases,  I  had  realized  that 
'Art  is  long,'  and  when  in  August,  1886,  I  found  myself 
for  the  first  time  in  Holland,  I  did  not  dream  of  the  artis- 
tic regeneration  that  awaited  me.  A  man  nearing  forty, 
who  had  crossed  the  ocean,  seen  the  Alps  and  the  Vatican, 
St.  Peter's  and  the  Pyramids,  Damascus  and  Baalbec, 
Jerusalem  and  Chicago,  is  not  usually  expecting  a  pow- 
erful, new  sensation.  Unconsciously,  however,  I  was 
making  ready  for  one  of  the  chief  shocks  of  pleasure  of 
which  a  man  is  capable.  I  was  in  The  Hague,  one  of  the 
fairest  of  cities,  girdled  by  those  lovely,  sacred,  imme- 
morial woods  which  gave  Holland  its  ancient  name,  the 
Holt  Land.  I  had  been  reading  something  of  Rembrandt, 
and  in  this  receptive  and  sensitive  mood,  I  found  myself 
standing  before  that  renowned  picture  which  Rembrandt 
executed  at  the  age  of  twenty-five,  the  Lesson  or  School 
of  Anatomy.  Such  is  the  wealth  and  force  of  life  in  the 
countenances  of  this  picture,  such  the  vital  beauty  and  ex- 
pressiveness of  teacher  and  spectators,  that  in  this  miracle 
of  art  the  thought  and  horror  of  death  were  completely 
overpowered.  I  was  face  to  face  with  living  men,  my 
kindred,  students  of  truth,  fathers  of  science,  children  of 
liberty,  and  then  I  owned  that  I  belonged  to  that  north- 


LEISURE  HOURS 185 

ern  race  which  finds  beauty,  not  so  much  in  forms  of 
Greek  outline  or  soft  Italian  grace,  not  so  much  in  the 
idealized  world  of  Madonnas  and  saints,  as  in  the  realm 
of  actual  humanity,  and  there  in  the  presence  of  Rem- 
brandt's astonishing  portraits,  even  the  grandeurs  of 
Michael  Angelo  and  the  seraphic  ideals  of  Raphael  faded 
from  my  fancy,  and,  beside  the  grave,  manly,  intellectual 
beauty  of  these  noble  faces,  all  of  Rubens's  lusty  and  rubi- 
cund goddesses  seemed  more  than  ever  the  products  of  a 
fleshly  paganism.  Although  subsequent  study  has  en- 
larged and  deepened  my  admiration  for  Rembrandt,  it 
has  also  chastened  and  modified  it.  It  is  a  relief  at  times 
to  turn  from  the  sombre  poetry  of  his  chiaroscuro,  from 
his  literal  and  often  graceless  drawing,  and  from  the 
frequent  commonness  of  his  subjects  and  the  grotesque- 
ness  of  their  treatment,  and  to  feel  once  more  the  beauty, 
dignity,  style,  splendor,  of  the  Italian  schools.  Yet  there 
is  a  strong  masculine  element  in  Rembrandt  which  makes 
him  the  artist  for  all  persons  who  value  vigor  and  thought 
more  than  prettiness,  who  are  touched  by  mystery  and 
sublimity  and  far-reaching  suggestiveness,  and  who  can 
tolerate  external  deformities  as  did  this  robust  genius." 
After  this  sensation,  it  is  not  strange  that  he  felt  for  Hol- 
land the  affection  reflected  in  these  further  words  of 
his: 

"In  no  other  nation  does  the  art  belong  so  naturally 
and  so  beautifully  to  the  people.  It  appears  to  spring 
out  of  their  soil,  rise  through  its  vapors,  sit  by  their  fire- 
sides, join  in  their  merriment,  and  glorify  their  rude 
and  thoughtful  faces.  The  Dutch  painters  depict  the 
Dutch  home  adorned  with  festoons  and  quaint  heraldic 
devices  and  succeed,  as  Emerson  sometimes  did,  in  finding 
out  the  poetry  of  a  kitchen  and  a  saucepan ;  they  revel  in 


JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 


the  flickering  lights  of  the  town  market;  they  lead  us 
over  the  grassy  plains  of  their  level  landscapes,  amid 
tree-bordered  canals  and  brown,  fantastic  windmills  and 
meek-eyed,  prosperous  cattle  and  along  the  shores  of  the 
great  sea;  they  perpetuate  the  faces  of  their  soldiers  and 
physicians  and  scholars;  they  do  their  work  with  un- 
equalled care  and  finish,  and  throw  into  it  a  new  magic 
of  color;  for  beneath  their  misty  skies  they  loved  all 
brightness  as  they  loved  their  tulips  and  their  hyacinths, 
their  painted  ships  and  rose-colored  houses  and  the  bright 
flagons  of  Delft  ware  that  gleamed  from  their  comfortable 
chimneys.  In  the  grasp  of  her  Art  as  of  her  commerce, 
the  Batavian  commonwealth  held  the  lands  of  splendor, 
and  it  has  been  said  that  many  a  Dutch  sailing-master, 
when  he  saw  his  vessels  coming  home  laden  with  the 
treasures  of  the  East  'dreamed  of  the  sun  of  Java  when 
he  saw  only  the  grey  shadows  of  Holland.'  " 

As  an  outcome  of  these  Dutch  and  English  experiences 
my  father  gave  much  of  his  leisure  to  Rembrandt  and 
Shakespeare — both  so  virile,  so  free  from  hyper-fastidious- 
ness, with  imaginations  suflliciently  strong  to  brighten  life's 
common  roads.  The  direct  fruits  of  this  study  were 
lectures  on  these  men  which  he  gave  frequently  thereafter, 
throughout  his  life. 

To  Shakespeare  during  several  years  he  turned  almost 
daily  for  refreshment.  He  found  that  there  are  times 
when  work,  the  sky,  the  Bible  even,  fail  to  lift  the  soul ; 
when  it  cherishes  old  truths  most  if  they  are  mingled  with 
unaccustomed,  feebler  elements.  Always,  and  probably 
rightly,  he  rated  his  critical  faculties  comparatively  low. 
His  temperament  was  active,  rather  than  introspective; 
his  mind  worked  synthetically,  not  analytically;  he  was 
governed  by  his  admirations,  and  had  few  dislikes.     He 


LEISURE  HOURS 187 

often  jotted  down  his  opinion  of  the  books  he  read.  He 
wrote : 

"Mark  Pattison's  'Life  of  Milton'  is  thoroughly  read- 
able and  imbued  with  a  just  admiration  of  the  great  poet's 
lofty  character.  But  it  seems  to  me  to  be  written  some- 
what in  the  spirit  of  the  young  man  who  was  praising 
his  mother  and  began  by  saying  'She  is  very  lame  and 
everybody  in  town  calls  her  "Old  Marm  Hutch,"  but 
still  I  think  my  mother  is  a  very  good  woman.'  Pattison 
thrusts  before  our  faces  the  criticisms  and  condemnations 
of  Milton's  life  and  works,  makes  us  familiar,  first  of  all, 
with  what  has  been  said  against  him,  and  then  concludes 
that  he  was  one  of  the  grandest  of  characters  and  noblest 
of  poets.  It  is  like  forcing  a  man  to  look  intently  at  the 
wart  on  Cromwell's  face  as  a  preliminary  to  the  study 
of  Cromwell's  character.  It  seems  to  me  that  the  spirit 
of  truth  demands  of  the  biographer  of  Milton  the  full, 
fair,  eloquent  portrayal  of  Milton's  great  character  and 
work,  and  the  subordination  of  the  defects  of  his  life 
to  those  positive  and  majestic  virtues  which  constitute  his 
greatness." 

It  is  interesting  to  notice  that  in  his  strenuous  life,  in 
the  heart  of  a  great  city,  he  lectured  upon  Shakespeare, 
not  on  his  other  chief  friend  among  the  poets — Milton. 
He  thought  Milton  "the  greater  artist  and  loftier  char- 
acter," but  described  Shakespeare  as  "of  ampler  imagina- 
tion, richer  in  worldly  wisdom,  reaching  a  wider  audience, 
and  touching  the  springs  of  all  the  arts."  Many  little 
personal  traits  that  he  discovered  or  fancied  in  Shake- 
speare pleased  him ;  such  for  example,  as  his  complete  in- 
difference to  posterity.  "In  the  golden  twilight  of  his 
later  years,  it  was  not  like  him  to  treat  his  works  as  many 
great   writers   have    treated    their    productions,    combing 


i88  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

their  locks,  washing  their  faces,  and  straightening  their 
clothes,  in  order  to  make  a  presentable  appearance  to 
posterity.  His  mind  had  discharged  itself  of  its  burden, 
he  had  laid  aside  his  wand,  even  as  his  own  Prospero 
broke  his  magic  rod,  and  he  could  placidly  permit  the 
race  he  had  enriched  to  guard  the  treasures  he  had  given." 
But  the  principal  ties  binding  him  to  Shakespeare  were 
the  dramatist's  knowledge  of  men,  and  his  profound  eth- 
ical and  religious  teachings.  This  latter  of  course,  my 
father  qualifies.  "He  had  none  of  the  instincts  of  the 
reformer,  either  in  politics,  morals,  or  religion.  Men 
call  him  a  universal  genius.  It  is  a  natural  mistake.  He 
knew  so  much  of  humanity,  it  seems  as  if  he  knew  all. 
But  there  was  one  immense  class  of  human  characters, 
and  that  the  m.ost  influential  in  history,  into  whose  lives 
he  did  not  enter,  I  mean  those  who  are  possessed  and 
controlled  by  religious  ideas.  Such  men  as  apostles, 
martyrs,  missionaries,  fanatics,  saints,  Christian  reformers; 
such  personages  as  Athanasius,  Mohammed,  Peter  the 
Hermit,  St.  Bernard,  Luther,  St.  Catherine  did  not  come 
within  the  range  of  his  marvellous  interpreting  sympathy. 
The  soul  life  in  its  relation  to  God  and  duty,  which  is 
unveiled  with  such  vividness  and  power  in  the  pages  of 
Harriet  Beecher  Stowe  and  Hawthorne  and  George  Mac- 
Donald,  and  even  more  profoundly  at  times  in  the  works 
of  George  Eliot,  v.-as  not  constantly  present  to  the  mind 
of  Shakespeare.  He  had  not  the  elevation  of  moral  tone 
which  strikes  us  at  once  in  Dante  and  Milton,  in  Words- 
worth, and  often  in  Victor  Hugo.  No  other  poet  ever 
had  such  a  vast  tolerance  for  human  infirmity."  "Yet," 
he  continues,  "his  intellect  was  too  comprehensive  and 
penetrating  not  to  discern  a  m.ultitude  of  things  which 
make  him  one  of  the  greatest  of  ethical  and  even  of  re- 


LEISURE  HOURS  189 

ligious  teachers.  The  morality  of  Shakespeare  is  not  in 
the  words  and  characters  so  much  as  in  the  very  plot  of 
the  plays.  So  it  is  in  history.  An  era  black  with  human 
baseness  may,  after  all,  furnish  grand  lessons  in  ethics. 
And  so  it  is  in  the  Bible.  Thinking  only  of  the  sins  of 
men  like  Jacob  and  David  and  Solomon,  and  calling 
attention  to  what  are  deemed  coarse  expressions  here  and 
there,  shallow  men  have  said  the  Bible  is  not  altogether 
moral.  The  hinge  of  the  Shakespearean  play,  that  upon 
which  it  turns,  is  God's  providential  order  which  is  com- 
mandingly  ethical,  blazing  forth  the  truth  that  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  moral  sphere  is  set  against  selfishness, 
against  hypocrisy,  against  treachery,  against  the  madness 
of  an  Antony— who  for  lust  flung  from  him  a  world, 
and  even  against  the  hasty  unwisdom  of  an  Othello. 

"The  adjustment  of  good  and  evil  is  not  always  equi- 
table, in  the  world  of  Shakespeare;  he  does  not  punish 
all  villains  as  they  deserve,  'on  this  bank  and  shoal  of 
timie.'  It  was  left  to  Charles  Dickens  to  accomplish  this 
in  his  cheap,  popular  way.  But  Shakespeare  is  truer  to 
nature  and  teaches,  as  the  wrong-doers  in  the  'Tempest' 
discovered,  that  transgression  comes  into  conflict  with 
all  spiritual  powers,  and  that  nothing  finally  avails  'except 
heartfelt  sorrow  and  a  clear  life  ensuing.'  And  this  man 
was  not  in  doubt  regarding  God,  his  personality,  provi- 
dence, righteousness,  and  mercy.  In  the  many  hundreds 
of  times  in  which  Shakespeare  uses  the  Divine  Name, 
every  power,  attribute,  quality  which  faith  and  revelation 
have  assigned  Him,  is  again  and  again  illustrated  or  af- 
firmed." 

He  refers  us  to  Henry  V  after  Agincourt,  to  faithful 
Adam  giving  to  Orlando  his  store  of  money,  to  Banquo 
in   the  horror  and   confusion   following  King   Duncan's 


190  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

murder,  to  Dame  Quickly  and  the  "jovial,  sensuous, 
cowardly,  vain,  and  half-lovable  Falstaff,"  to  Lorenzo 
whispering  to  Jessica,  to  Clarence  crying  to  his  murderer, 
to  Richard  III,  and  to  the  "sad  and  distracted  Hamlet, 
the  most  speculative,  intellectual,  mysterious,  and  fasci- 
nating of  Shakespeare's  men."  And  Shakespeare's  world 
is  also  full  of  prayer.  "We  breathe  the  atmosphere  of 
prayer  and  hear  its  words,  with  kings  on  the  edge  of 
battle  and  with  innocent  women  in  the  stress  of  sorrow ; 
and  while  we  behold  the  futile  agony  of  the  prayer  of  the 
wicked  and  unrepentant,  as  we  see  the  Danish  king  on  his 
knees,  we  also  catch  a  glimpse  of  its  heavenly  beauty  as 
Juliet  exclaims  that  she  has  'need  of  many  orisons.'  " 

After  relating  his  love  for  Perdita,  "frolicsome  Rosa- 
lind," "Miranda,  the  pure  sweet  daughter  of  wonder," 
and  for  those  "meek  victims  of  man's  unwisdom.," 
Ophelia,  Desdemona,  Hermione,  and  Cordelia,  he  calls 
them  all  "embodiments  of  the  Christian  graces  of  meek- 
ness, truth,  sweetness,  and  mercy."  Other  distinctly 
Christian  truth  he  also  indicates.  "What  marvellous 
blending  of  the  truth  that  God  is  merciful  and  man  is 
sometimes  incorrigible  is  found  in  the  death-bed  scene  of 
the  wicked  Cardinal  Beaufort!  And  who  else,  like  this 
Stratford  playwright,  has  pictured  for  us  the  beauty  of 
the  Christian  grace  of  mercy,  in  the  words  of  Isabella 
or  of  Portia.  Where  else  is  the  work  of  Christ's  Atone- 
ment more  sweetly  told  than  in  these  lines  from  Measure 
for  Measure: 

'Why,  all  the  souls  that  were  were  forfeit  once; 
And  He  that  might  the  vantage  best  have  took 
Found  out  the  remedy;' 

unless  it  be  in   these  other  Shakespearean  words: 


LEISURE  HOURS  191 

'That   dread   King  who   took  our  state  upon   Him 
To  free  us   from   His   Father's  wrathful  curse;' 

though  both   of  these  passages   pale  before  the  splendid 
beauty  of  these  lines  of  King  Henry  the  Fourth, 

'The    holy    fields 
Over   whose   acres   walked    those   blessed    feet, 
Which  fourteen  hundred  years  ago  were  nailed 
For  our  advantage  to  the  bitter  cross.' 

"And  nowhere  else  outside  of  the  Scriptures  is  the  sin 
of  man,  perhaps  I  should  say  are  the  sins  of  men,  revealed 
with  more  astonishing  and  terrific  power  as  acts  com- 
mitted against  the  Divine  order.  This  painter  of  ideal 
scenes  that  appear  to  us  more  actual  than  fields  of  battle, 
so  that  we  walk  in  fancy  over  the  platform  of  the  castle 
of  Elsinore  with  deeper  emotions  than  over  the  plain  of 
Marathon,  is  also  so  ethical,  especially  in  his  greater 
dramas,  that  his  javelins  strike  deep  at  almost  every  sin, 
and  he  unconsciously  takes  moral  rank  for  the  moment 
with  Aeschylus  and  Dante.  Moreover,  we  feel  that  we 
are  in  the  very  spirit  of  the  most  solemn  of  Scriptural 
truths,  when  we  follow  Shakespeare  as  he  unveils  the 
workings  of  a  guilty  conscience."  Then,  too,  he  finds  that 
Shakespeare  comes  "closer  yet  to  the  hearts  of  men  gen- 
erally in  the  marvelous  reflections  of  Biblical  truth  which 
he  gives  us,  as  he  sings  of  the  instability  of  earthly  hap- 
piness, the  transitoriness  of  earthly  beauty,  the  vanity  of 
earthly  glory,  and  ventures,  now  and  then,  to  lead  our 
thoughts  and  hopes  into  the  lucid  realms  of  the  life  im- 
mortal." 

My  father  was  also  a  lover  of  Lowell,  whom  he  con- 
sidered, on  the  whole,  the  best  representative  of  American 
literary  development.    They  had  had  some  correspondence 


192  JOHN   HENRY   BARROWS 

and  at  Mr.  Lowell's  request,  they  met  in  1887  when  the 
poet  came  to  Chicago  to  address  the  Union  League  Club. 
My  father  found  him  delightfully  communicative  about 
the  new  edition  of  his  works,  then  only  a  prophecy,  his 
opinions  of  great  men,  and  of  European  life  and  politics. 
Mr.  Lowell  took  occasion  to  say:  "The  only  thing 
settled  by  the  Congress  of  Vienna  was  that  Gruyere  cheese 
is  the  best  cheese  in  the  world,"  and  to  tell  of  turning  a 
laugh  on  Sumner,  who  had  no  sense  of  humour.  Sumner 
had  been  talking  at  great  length  about  the  recent  suicide 
of  the  French  Ambassador  at  Washington.  After  he  had 
given  all  the  theories  as  to  the  cause  of  the  suicide,  Lowell 
said :  "Sumner,  did  you  see  the  French  Ambassador  often 
before  his  death?"  "Yes,"  said  Sumner,  "I  saw  him 
every  day."  "Did  you  speak  with  him  in  English  or 
French?"  "Oh,  I  talked  nothing  but  French,"  said 
Sumner.  On  this  Lowell  said :  "Gentlemen,  we  do  not 
need  to  seek  any  further  reason  for  his  death;  this  fully 
explains  the  suicide!"  Sumner  was  never  able  to  under- 
stand the  laughter  which  followed. 

In  the  first  five  years  after  his  return  from  Europe,  my 
father  spent  many  of  his  vacations  in  traveling.  He 
caught  muscallonge  in  Lost  Lake,  Wisconsin,  and  red  fish 
in  Tampa  Bay,  he  scaled  the  heights  of  Quebec  and  in- 
spected cigar  factories  in  Cuba;  he  preached  in  places  as 
dissimilar  as  Brooklyn  and  New  Orleans,  St.  Louis  and 
St.  Augustine.  Some  experiences  of  his  trip  to  Fort 
Worth,  Texas,  to  speak  at  the  opening  of  the  Spring 
Palace,  he  related  to  his  church  in  these  words :  "Along 
the  road  which  passes  by  the  railway  track,  I  saw  a  dozen 
teams  driven  by  Oklahoma  boomers,  returning  sadly  and 
slowly  toward  the  land  from  which  they  came.  When 
saluted  by  a  wave  of  the  handkerchief  from  a  car  window, 


LEISURE  HOURS  193 

they  always  good-naturedly  responded.  We  tried  this 
salutation  on  a  number  of  stolid  Indians,  but  had  our 
pains  for  our  trouble.  The  aboriginal  lord  of  the  soil  was 
not  disposed  to  exchange  greetings  with  strangers.  There 
is  no  need  to  tell  you  at  length  of  the  sights  in  Okla- 
homa, of  the  patches  of  soil  here  and  there  turned  up  by 
the  plow,  of  the  very  infrequent  shanties  or  tents  visible 
on  the  plains.  But  the  city  of  Guthrie,  the  would-be 
capital  of  the  new  territory,  where  we  paused  a  half  hour, 
is  worth  a  moment's  description.  This  mushroom  me- 
tropolis of  pine  and  canvas  spreads  out  over  a  square  mile 
on  either  side  of  the  track,  and  looks  as  though  it  had 
come  out  for  the  afternoon  to  enjoy  a  summer  picnic; 
and  yet  there  are  signs  of  trade  and  enterprise.  Hotels 
are  visible,  bearing  such  names  as  Sherman  House,  the 
Lindell  Hotel,  the  European  Hotel.  These  are  usually 
one  story,  or  one  story  and  a  half  in  height,  and  capable 
of  housing  a  half-dozen  people.  I  saw  a  tent,  ten  feet 
square,  with  this  sign,  'Board  by  the  day  or  week.'  I 
saw  a  shanty  without  a  roof,  perhaps  six  feet  by  eight,  in 
front  of  which,  supported  by  two  posts  twelve  feet  high, 
was  an  immense  sign,  'Bakery,  Wholesale  and  Retail.' 
Another  establishment  a  little  larger  had  over  it  the  sign, 
'Groceries  and  Hardware,  Wholesale  and  Retail.' 
*  *  *  *  The  people  of  Texas  may  have  their  faults, 
but  among  them  are  not  a  lack  of  frankness,  and  a  lack 
of  generous  appreciation.  This  gigantic  State  is  gigantic 
in  its  compliments,  and  the  words  in  which  your  humble- 
minded  pastor  was  introduced  to  this  intelligent  and  eager 
and  thoughtful  congregation,  exhausted  his  capacities  for 
blushing,  and  made  him  wish  that  a  large  Texas  knot- 
hole had  been  provided  for  the  occasion.  Right  in  front 
of  the  platform  was  a  fountain  playing,  and  in  a  basin 


194  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

about  it  were  swimming  a  dozen  white  ducks.  After 
your  doctor  had  been  introduced  in  this  tremendous  way, 
one  of  the  ducks  very  appropriately  called  out  'quack!'  " 
The  summer  of  1887  and  the  four  succeeding  summers 
he  went  with  his  family  to  West  Lake,  a  Canadian  farm- 
ing village,  eighty  miles  east  of  Toronto.  Here  for  the 
first  time  since  his  days  in  Kansas  he  reveled  in  country 
life.  He  writes:  "The  sun  is  a  great  healer  when  you 
are  on  the  water.  I  believe  that  twelve  hours  spent  in 
a  boat,  especially  when  some  one  else  rows,  will  do  more 
to  restore  the  vigor  of  a  tired  man  than  several  days 
spent  in  bed.  *  *  *  *  The  change  in  the  sounds 
that  smite  the  ear  is  a  pleasure  and  a  refreshment.  In- 
stead of  the  car-bell,  the  rumble  of  the  market  wagons 
and  fire  engines,  the  distant  whistle  of  the  locomotive,  the 
yells  of  the  newsboys,  and  the  cries  of  the  charcoal  man, 
it  was  a  relief  to  listen  to  the  voiceful  silence  of  Nature, 
for  the  voices  seem  still  compared  to  those  to  which  the 
ear  Is  wont.  The  chirp  of  the  cricket,  the  whistle  of  the 
meadow  lark,  the  chirrup  of  the  tree  toad  and  of  the 
squirrel,  the  humming  of  the  bees,  the  soughing  of  the 
wind  in  the  cedars,  the  plash  of  the  waves,  the  lowing  of 
the  cattle,  the  cackle  of  the  barnyard,  the  falling  of  apples 
and  pears,  the  whinnying  of  horses,  the  click  of  the  har- 
vester and  of  the  croquet  balls,  these  are  some  of  the 
sounds  which  replaced  the  din  of  the  city."  Something 
of  this  life  shows  in  his  article  called  "Two  Miles  of  a 
Country  Road,"  from  which  we  quote:  "You  have  never 
walked  this  road,  unless  you  have  made  a  summer  trip 
through  a  somewhat  obscure  part  of  the  Canadian  do- 
minion. It  is  not  a  very  picturesque  bit  of  the  queen's 
highway,  but  to  me  it  is  hallowed  by  memories  of  sweetest 
domestic  pleasure.     Three  or  four  times  a  week,  for  ten 


LEISURE  HOURS  i95 

weeks  of  my  life,  I  have  driven  over  it  with  my  best  friend 
and  with  one  or  another  of  our  children.  It  was  the 
closing  pleasure  of  the  happy,  idyllic  day,  a  day  of  air  and 
sunshine  and  outdoor  life  between  our  three  lakes. 

"Our  daily  life  here  by  this  road  may  not  seem  at  all 
attractive  to  people  who  love  great  hotels  and  elaborate 
dinners  and  much  society.  But  we  thought  it  a  return 
to  paradise.  With  the  fresh  products  of  the  farm  to 
live  on,  served  by  an  excellent  cook  (and  a  good  cook  is 
one  of  the  noblest  inventions  of  the  modern  world),  with 
pure,  cool  air  to  breathe,  not  wanting  in  the  balsamic 
flavors  of  the  near  woods,  with  everything  to  invite  us 
out  of  doors,  we  found  the  days  too  short.  In  our  farm- 
house we  breakfasted  at  seven,  and  after  prayers  came  the 
day's  varied  occupations.  With  tennis,  croquet,  archery, 
foot-ball,  base-ball,  riding,  rowing,  swimming,  and  above 
all,  fishing,  the  day  was  almost  as  full  as  a  city  pastor's 
when  at  work.  It  is  a  blessing  for  a  busy  man  to  take 
time  to  get  acquainted  with  his  children,  to  find  out  what 
they  like,  to  be  their  companion,  to  make  himself  a  boy 
again,  to  teach  them  to  row  and  swim  and  fish  and  to  take 
a  fresh  and  lively  interest  in  the  outer  world. 

"But  we  must  begin  our  brief  journey.  'Tom,'  our 
horse,  does  not  care  to  take  more  than  ten  minutes  to 
whirl  us  to  the  end  of  two  miles,  and  he  is  easily  persuaded 
to  return  in  even  shorter  time.  Horses  love  to  set  their 
faces  homeward,  like  travelers  who  have  seen  Egypt  and 
Italy  and  France  and  England,  and  find  themselves  at 
last  confronting  the  stormy  sea  at  Liverpool.  Our  road 
leads  from  the  farm-house  to  an  old  mill,  a  part  of  which 
is  now  used  for  a  post-oflSce.  We  often  find  the  office 
locked  and  then  call  on  the  post-mistress  at  the  house 
hard  by.     She  lets  us  examine  the  small  basket  containing 


JOHN   HENRY   BARROWS 


the  meagre  mail,  half  of  which  is  sometimes  ours.  I  find 
it  a  saving  of  mental  nerve  to  dwell  for  a  time  where 
the  modern  Mercur\-  alights  not  three  times  a  day,  but 
every  other  day. 

"Do  you  wish  to  ride  with  us  tonight?  Mary  or 
Manning  will  give  you  the  seat  for  just  once.  Before 
stepping  into  the  buggj'  you  must  look  at  the  splendid  ex- 
hibition of  clouds  with  which  the  Great  Painter  delights 
us.  You  perhaps  never  saw  so  wide  and  high  a  pillar 
of  snow-white,  luminous  vapor  as  that  which  now  reaches 
almost  to  the  zenith.  The  winds  are  slowly  tearing  ofif 
islands  of  floating  splendor  and  spreading  them  like  golden 
fleeces  over  the  azure  upper  sea.  You  may  think  this  a 
rather  common  country,  but  God  never  lavished  else- 
where more  glory  on  the  evening  sky.  You  rejoice  in  an 
almost  unobstructed  vision  of  the  horizon  and  the  heaven; 
and  the  lake  which  gleams  between  you  and  the  great 
sand  dune  to  the  westward  (and  that  yellow  sand-hill 
itself  is  a  sort  of  mountainous  Sahara)  both  help  to  make 
the  picture  more  beautiful.  We  are  in  the  carriage  now 
and  though  the  youngest  child  frowns  a  little  at  our  de- 
parture, because  it  is  not  'his  turn,'  we  ride  to  the  gate 
which  the  little  hands  hold  open  and  are  in  our  road  going 
northward.  There  is  a  rail  fence  on  either  side,  with 
juniper  bushes,  choke-cherries,  wild  plum  trees,  and  wil- 
lows, decorating  and  guarding  its  primitive  abruptness. 
Back  of  us  the  road  leads  by  several  turns  through  a 
forest  to  the  unseen  shores  of  Ontario,  where,  unless  the 
wind  quiets,  there  may  be  no  haul  of  white-fish  tomorrow 
morning.  To-night  the  great  lake  is  roaring,  as  it  rushes 
over  the  lime-stone  shelves  and  tries  to  eat  a  little  deeper 
into  the  coast.  We  may  have  no  orchestra  to  delight  us 
here  with  the  music  of  Wagner  and  Beethoven,  but  there 


LEISURE  HOURS  197 

is  a  deeper  and  grander  music  speaking  to  our  hearts  from 
the  unseen  organ  of  the  waves,  a  music  which  has  lulled 
human  eyes  to  sleep  for  a  hundred  years.  Our  road  is 
older  than  any  across  the  prairies.  Children  walk  over 
it  to  school  to-day  as  their  great-grandmothers  did.  I 
hope  your  children  have  learned  to  distinguish  all  these 
trees  along  the  way.  Mine  love  to  say,  'Oh,  I  see  an 
iron-wood,  a  beech,  an  ash,  a  birch,  a  bass-wood,  a  hickory, 
a  wild-cherry,  a  cedar,  a  pine,  a  silver  maple,  a  mountain- 
ash,  a  choke-cherry,  a  spruce,  a  willow,  a  hard  maple,  a 
butternut.'     We  see  all  of  these  on  our  little  ride. 

"I  am  thankful  for  these  two  miles  of  country  road. 
They  remind  me  of  the  way  over  which,  thirty-four  years 
ago,  I  trudged  to  a  district  school  and  my  children  will 
think  of  it  as  the  road  which  led  them  into  the  fields  of 
natural  knowledge.  Dante  went  through  a  forest  on  his 
way  to  hell.  We  do  not  find  these  woods  so  dusky,  dense, 
and  dreadful  as  his,  and  love  and  peace  make  us  dream 
that  we  have  come  to  a  summer  Eden. 

"The  lake  looks  rough  tonight,  the  children  will  not 
ask  us  to  go  out  'bull-heading'  on  our  return.  I  know 
an  individual  who  thinks  that,  next  to  a  good  prayer- 
meeting,  catching  bull-heads  by  moonlight  is  the  sweetest 
of  pleasures.  I  know  of  no  exercise  to  me  pleasanter  than 
on  a  still  day  to  be  rowing  a  boat  with  two  friends  be- 
sides, trailing  three  or  four  long  lines  through  the  water 
when  the  bass  and  pickerel  happen  to  be  hungry.  Look- 
ing at  the  lake  to-night  from  our  buggy,  I  remember  some 
successes  and  many  failures  in  the  last  few  weeks,  and 
vividest  of  all  is  the  recollection  of  a  muscallonge,  who 
this  very  morning  let  me  haul  him  to  the  side  of  my  boat 
so  that  I  could  see  his  silvery  beauty,  and  who  then  con- 
cluded to  finish  his  breakfast  on  something  more  palatable 


JOHN   HENRY  BARROWS 


than  the  'spoon  victuals'  which  were  all  that  I  offered 
him.  But  it  is  better  to  have  fished  and  lost  than  never 
to  have  fished  at  all,  when  the  game  you  are  after  is  this 
savage  and  beautiful  monster,  the  wolf  of  our  waters, 
whose  name  the  Indians  and  the  white  men  spell  or  pro- 
nounce in  some  five  different  ways."  During  the  sum- 
mer evenings,  too,  he  often  plaj^ed  backgammon  until,  as 
he  says,  he  came  to  feel  "like  the  minister  who  indulged 
so  much  in  this  game  that  he  became  very  restless  when 
he  looked  down  from  his  pulpit  and  saw  in  any  part  of 
the  congregation,  a  pew  with  only  one  person  in  it.  It 
seemed  to  him  like  a  point  uncovered,  and  he  felt  like 
coming  down  and  placing  some  other  person  by  the  side 
of  the  solitary  listener." 

In  these  years,  as  always,  his  friendships  play  a  large 
part  in  his  life.  These  notes  to  Dr.  Simon  J.  McPherson, 
then  minister  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church  of  Chi- 
cago, are  characteristic : 

1885. 
Dear  Mack: 

We  have  put  you  on  for  the  last  speaker  that  we  might 
say,  "Optimum  vinum  usque  adhuc."  Write  that  you 
approve  and  that  you  love  me.  I  have  been  looking  over 
the  minutes  of  the  Assembly  and  have  been  so  impressed 
by  the  showing  of  your  church  that  I  send  my  congratula- 
tions. It  is  a  noble  record  of  which  your  elders  (the 
First  Church  congregation)   feel  proud. 

If  you  want  to  be  still  greater  than  you  are,  read  daily 
Park's  "Discourses." 

For  two  weeks  my  life  has  been  a  funeral  procession. 
These  recent  days  which  the  Nation- has  given  to  Grant 
have  doubtless  softened  your  heart  as  they  have  mine. 
I  am  happy  to  be  able  at  last  to  reach  some  just  estimate 


LEISURE  HOURS i99 

of  the  old  commander.     During  his  life  it  was  hard  to 
do  so. 

March  7,    1888. 
My  Dear  Mack: 

I  shall  gladly  rattle  'round  in  your  pulpit  a  week  from 
Sunday  evening.  You  ought  to  go  to  the  New  York 
banquet,  and  I  am  glad  that  the  Chicago  Presbytery  and 
the  Chicago  Princeton  Club  are  to  be  represented  there  by 
the  ablest  man  in  our  denomination.  But  don't  let  the 
New  York  fellows  get  their  hooks  into  you.  A  Chris- 
tian man  can  preserve  his  self-respect,  his  American  prin- 
ciples, his  religion,  and  everything  good  except  his  ortho- 
doxy more  easily  in  Chicago  than  in  New  York! 

2957   Indiana  Avenue,   Nov.   15,    1889. 

My  Capital  and  "Capitalistic"  Friend: 

We  have  had  a  jubilee  at  our  house  this  morning,  read- 
ing John  Crerar's  noble  and  nobly  characteristic  will. 
Every  good  man  in  Chicago  feels  prouder  and  richer 
from  what  he  reads  of  your  friend's  princely  benefactions. 
We  can  do  our  work  with  stronger  hope  now  that  we  see 
what  reinforcement  has  come  to  us.  Bless  the  Lord,  O 
my  soul! 

But  I  cannot  write  one  tithe  of  what  I  feel.  John 
Crerar  has  made  us  all  his  debtors — How  wisely  and  well 
he  has  distributed  his  fortune!  You  and  I  might  have 
wished  to  see  Lake  Forest  and  the  Presbyterian  Board 
remembered,  but  nine  hundred  and  ninety-nine  out  of  a 
thousand  of  Chicago's  best  people  will  say,  "It  could 
hardly  have  been  better." 

I  am  so  glad  about  the  League,  the  Library,  the  Hos- 
pital, the  statue,  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  the  Sunday  School 
Union,  and  all  the  rest,  including  S.  J.  M. 


JOHN  HENRY   BARROWS 


By  the  way,  I  have  one  or  two  pet  causes  that  I  like 
to  present  to  my  rich  friends,  but  I  will  not  trouble  you 
now. 

October  i6,   1891. 
My  Dear  Mack: 

Your  letter  was  golden  and  the  enclosure  only  "silver." 
I  keep  the  gold  but  return  the  "silver,"  believing  that 
the  clerical  laborer  is  worthy  of  his  argent.  I  may  claim 
the  kiss  from  the  bride  when  she  returns.  That  emolu- 
ment I  ought  not  to  lose.  You  must  not  begin  a  bad 
precedent.  When  you  are  sick  and  I  officiate  in  the 
Second  Church,  I  may  get  a  hundred  dollar  fee,  and  my 
wife  would  quarrel  with  me  if  I  sent  it  to  you ! 

Yours,  Jack. 

Perhaps  his  most  noticeable  trait  in  his  leisure  hours 
was  the  lavishness  with  which  he  poured  the  best  wine  of 
his  nature  for  those  nearest  to  him.  Few  children  have 
had  a  father  like  him.  After  waking  his  flock  in  the 
morning,  he  would  tell  them  part  of  a  never-ending  Sin- 
bad  story,  wherein  Marienbad,  Katrinenbad,  Mannien- 
bad,  and  the  others  played  their  several  parts,  sliding  down 
hills  of  ice-cream,  slaking  their  thirst  in  streams  of  foam- 
ing soda-water,  and  discovering  every  kind  of  magic  treas- 
ure. Breakfast  over,  his  prayer  for  help  and  forgiveness 
followed,  full  of  thanks  for  "Thy  favour  which  is  life,  and 
Thy  loving  kindness  which  is  better  than  life,"  after 
which,  with  moistened  eyes,  he  always  kissed  each  member 
of  his  family.  And  so,  until  the  evening  hymns,  "Up- 
ward where  the  stars  are  burning,"  "The  spacious  firma- 
ment on  High,"  and  "Lead,  Kindly  Light,"  which  some- 
times closed  the  day,  his  loving  presence  guided.  Accord- 
ing to  some  lax  modern  notions,  he  was  too  strict  a  parent. 


LEISURE  HOURS  201 

Both  he  and  his  wife  believed  in  corporal  punishment, 
and  as  in  other  things,  the  bridge  betw'een  their  theory 
and  practice  was  not  unused.  He  was  both  just  and 
tender,  with  the  result  that  his  children  so  early  learned 
obedience,  truthfulness,  and  absolute  devotion  to  him, 
that  though  they  were  disorderly,  quick-tempered,  and 
wilful,   severe   discipline  was   rarely   necessary. 

He  inaugurated  many  delightful  family  customs;  a 
procession  at  Christmas  time,  when  after  breakfast  each 
child  playing  a  different  instrument,  mouth-organ,  comb, 
bell,  horn,  or  whistle,  as  the  case  might  be,  marched  after 
him  through  all  the  house  from  attic  to  cellar  and  round 
and  round  the  bulging  stockings  hanging  on  the  parlor 
chairs.  The  plan  was  not  to  break  ranks  till  he  halted. 
Oh,  the  excitement  of  it!  Every  time  we  entered  the 
parlor,  our  music  would  grow  faint  for  we  were  breath- 
less with  expectancy;  would  our  laughing  leader  pause, 
or  would  he  still  twang  his  zither  and  march  relentlessly 
away?  And  then  there  was  the  birthday  bonfire.  This 
came  each  August,  in  honor  of  all  those  members  of  the 
family  whose  natal  days  fell  in  the  summer  months.  It 
was  weeks  in  building  and  when  finally  lighted  on  the  top 
of  the  highest  sand-dune  it  blazed  more  glorious  than 
fire-works,  so  high  that  all  night  long,  ships  far  out  on 
Lake  Ontario  could  see  it.  For  each  birthday,  too,  he 
wrote  a  hymn,  which  was  sung  to  the  child  w^hose  day 
was  being  celebrated.  One  of  these,  to  the  tune  "Amer- 
ica," contained  the  line,  "I  love  thy  frocks  and  frills." 

Life  was  never  monotonous  with  him  as  comrade. 
Surprises  were  his  specialty,  and  of  a  kind  and  variety  that 
only  the  most  loving  imagination  could  conceive.  Soda- 
water  tickets  under  plates  upon  hot  mornings,  rare  stamps 
for  collections  falling  out  of  napkins,  invitations  to  drive 


JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 


behind  the  ponies  in  Lincoln  Park  pinned  on  pillows, 
were  among  the  minor  varieties.  He  would  send  pres- 
ents or  post  letters  on  his  way  to  the  train,  that  his  wife 
might  hear  sooner  than  she  anticipated,  letters  abounding 
in  puns  and  rhymes,  often  containing  long  paragraphs 
wherein  each  word  began  with  the  same  letter,  or  illus- 
trated by  strange  designs,  or  relating  imaginary  adven- 
tures, or  full  of  German,  French,  and  Latin  phrases  writ- 
ten in  Greek  characters  all  to  the  endless  delight  of  his 
children.  For  their  pleasure  there  seemed  nothing  that 
he  could  not  do ;  in  rowing,  swimming,  and  running  races, 
every  kind  of  tournament,  tennis,  croquet,  and  archery, 
he  was  the  moving  spirit.  He  loved  even  better  than 
they,  if  that  is  possible,  to  play  Indian,  set  night  lines, 
turn  the  crank  for  the  hand-organ  man,  ride  in  a  merry- 
go-round,  make  pop-corn  balls,  and  listen  while  his  wife 
read  aloud  the  Parent's  Assistant,  or  the  Count  of  Monte 
Crista,  as  the  case  may  be.  At  one  time  he  bought  oil 
paints  and  canvas,  and  though  knowing  nothing  of  the 
art,  devoted  his  leisure  noon  hour  for  months  to  painting 
a  landscape.  Assured  that  when  the  picture  was  finished 
he  could  hardly  face  a  picture  dealer  in  its  company  with- 
out embarrassment,  he  had  the  canvas,  while  yet  spotless, 
heavily  framed  in  gilt.  It  was  odd  to  watch  him  hard 
at  work  before  it.  His  devices  for  gaining  desired  effects 
were  sometimes  ingenious.  When  the  sun  rising  in  the 
back-ground  refused  to  round  out  as  it  should,  he  se- 
cured the  proper  bulge  by  gluing  on  a  gilded  fifty  cent 
piece.  Professor  Swing  on  being  shown  the  completed 
picture  hanging  behind  the  door,  exclaimed,  "Did  Bar- 
rows do  that?  He's  a  great  man!"  Yet  this  was  the 
artist's  sole  attempt,  and  the  forsaken  paints  sent  to  the 
talented  daughter  of  a  missionary  brought  forth  a  most 


LEISURE  HOURS 203 

touching  letter  of  thanks.  In  a  long  poem  entitled  "The 
Idyl  of  the  Queens"  he  wrote  most  fascinatingly  of  his 
second  trip  abroad.  He  could  tell  all  of  the  interesting 
things  the  school  books  forgot  to  say,  and  he  would  recite 
poetry  of  many  kinds,  Homer  and  Byron,  scenes  from 
Hamlet,  and  whole  books  from  Paradise  Lost  on  beauti- 
ful walks  among  the  wild  flowers  of  Jackson  Park,  before 
the  days  of  Fair  buildings,  or  across  the  Canadian  sand- 
dunes  in  the  moonlight.  To  know  him  one  must  have 
stood  beside  him.  His  presence  made  the  spot  whereon 
he  walked  a  beautiful  and  holy  place. 


CHAPTER  XI 

HIS  PREACHING  AND  ITS  REVELATION  OF   HIMSELF 

One  has  truly  said  of  my  father,  "His  pulpit  was  his 
throne."  From  it  he  swayed  thousands.  Nor  were  his 
hearers  the  only  ones  that  his  words  touched.  Chicago 
dailies  issued  on  Monday  mornings  large  extracts  from 
his  sermons.  The  Golden  Rule,  years  before  it  became 
the  organ  of  the  Christian  Endeavor  Society,  often  printed 
his  sermons,  as  did,  less  frequently,  the  Interior,  and  other 
religious  papers.  Beginning  with  1887,  a  newspaper 
syndicate  secured  each  week  a  resume  of  his  Sunday's  dis« 
course  and  presented  the  abstract  simultaneously  in  the 
larger  cities  from  Pittsburg  to  St.  Louis.  Some  of  his 
sermons  were  widely  distributed  in  pamphlet  form,  among 
them  those  on  "Glorifying  God,"  "Eternal  Enjoyment," 
"Christian  Manhood,"  "Christ  and  the  Poor,"  "Munic- 
ipal Patriotism,"  the  "Nation's  Hope,"  "Robert  Els- 
mere,"  and  "Religion  the  Motive  Power  in  Human 
Progress."  In  1891,  D.  Lothrop  &  Company  published 
his  first  book,  The  Gospels  are  True  Histories,  seven  lec- 
tures on  the  credibility  of  the  Gospels.  These  addresses, 
originally  written  for  his  evening  audiences,  had  proved 
very  effective ;  all  but  two  of  them  had  come  out  earlier 
in  the  Golden  Rule  and  had  called  forth  warmest  expres- 
sions of  interest  from  all  over  the  country;  and  on  their 
appearance  in  book  form,  distinguished  men  praised  them 
for  meeting  a  real  need.  Dr.  Cuyler  deemed  them  "clear, 
convincing  and  powerful,"  adding,  "They  ought  to  be 
scattered  broadcast  in  our  schools  and  colleges;"  and  Dr. 


HIS  PREACHING  205 

Francis  E.  Clark  felt  assured  that  they  would  "do  much 
to  establish  in  the  faith  many  souls  that  might  otherwise 
slip  their  moorings  and  drift  out  on  the  sea  of  unbelief." 
Three  years  later  a  second  book,  entitled,  /  Believe  in 
God,  consisting  of  four  sermons  on  theism  and  pub- 
lished by  F.  H.  Revell  Company,  was  similarly  reviewed. 
Though  these  two  collections  are  the  only  sermons  that 
he  ever  published  in  book  form,  they  are  not  those  on 
which  his  fame  as  a  preacher  rests,  nor  is  their  distinctive 
style  particularly  characteristic  of  him,  as  the  following 
study  of  his  preaching  will  show. 

Among  his  chief  heroes  were  preachers.  It  was  with 
quick-beating  heart  that  he  ascended  at  Eisenach,  Wiemar, 
and  Wittenberg,  pulpits  wherein  Luther  had  preached. 
He  was  prone  to  remember  Paul,  Augustine,  Francis, 
Wyclif,  Whitefield,  Robertson,  and  other  illustrious  oc- 
cupants of  his  office,  and  its  satisfactions  were  to  him  of 
the  amplest.  "I  believe  that  happiness  is  a  great  duty," 
he  writes,  "and  that  happiness  is  simply  impossible  in  a 
world  of  sickness  and  change  and  disappointment  to  any 
soul  that  is  not  anchored  to  Him  who  has  conquered  sor- 
row, trouble,  and  death.  The  chief  and  ever-present  duty 
of  man,  is  to  get  into  accord  with  the  mind  of  his  Maker, 
to  love  those  things  that  are  dear  to  God's  heart,  to  link 
his  life  with  the  one  life  that  has  brought  more  peace  and 
happiness  to  human  souls  than  all  the  thrones  of  kings 
and  swords  of  conquerors.  I  fear  that  some  of  you  pity 
a  m.an  who  is  called  to  preach,  think  that  there  are  other 
things  more  satisfying.  You  are  utterly  wrong.  A  man 
who  is  called  of  Heaven  to  preach  Christ's  evangel,  and 
who  would  willingly  exchange  the  work  of  the  minister 
and  the  pastor  for  any  life  of  intellectual  leisure,  has  sur- 
rendered his  birthright,  has  thrown  from  him  God's  rich- 


2o6  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

est  crown.  The  Lord  has  given  to  me  many  joys  in  this 
world,  the  joy  of  friendship,  and  of  blessed  human  love; 
the  joy  of  success,  and  enough  of  what  the  world  calls 
fame,  to  show  its  hoUowness  and  unsatisf actoriness ;  he 
has  given  me  something  of  the  joy  of  intellectual  achieve- 
ment; but  nothing  ennobles  and  satisfies  the  soul  like  the 
consciousness  that  now  and  then  one  has  been  the  minister 
of  God  to  some  stricken  heart." 

The  reference  to  Christ  in  this  passage  is  typical.  His 
faith  in  a  divine  Christ  is  one  of  the  most  insistent  notes 
in  his  preaching.  Divinity,  as  he  conceived  it,  was  neither 
tangible  nor  limited,  truth  being  mysterious  and  measure- 
less. No  single  group  of  men  could  ever  monopolize  it ; 
he  was  truly  protestant  in  his  advocacy  of  every  man's 
right  to  his  own  view.  Yet  to  his  mind,  a  religion  not 
expressed  in  terms  of  Christ  is  too  easily  dissipated  to 
avail  much  with  men.  He  observes  that  just  as  "a  man 
often  walks  in  the  cold  light  of  the  October  moon  with 
no  grateful  thought  of  the  sun  whose  reflected  splendor 
silvers  the  autumn  field,"  so  men  without  the  Christ  may 
have  somewhat  of  the  "brightness  of  Christianity,"  but 
are  without  "its  personal  light  and  consolation ;"  and 
again,  "Those  subject  to  Christ  pray  often  and  with 
fervor;  those  bi'eaking  their  allegiance,  with  coldness  and 
increasing  rarity."  In  the  midst  of  a  eulogy  of  the  Bible 
he  questions:  "Why  do  3^ou  grope  so  blindly  after  the 
fireflies  of  truth  which  can  never  warm  you?  Why  at- 
tempt to  tear  out  the  crimson  pages  of  God's  word,  when 
from  your  choicest  literatures  you  can  bring  nothing  so 
comforting  to  man's  soul?  Destroy,  if  you  may,  human 
faith  in  the  Word  of  God,  but  where  shall  the  guilty 
turn  for  peace  and  the  dying  for  hope?  The  deep  of 
science  says,  "They  are  not  with  me.'    The  bending  heav- 


HIS  PREACHING  207 

ens  and  the  burning  stars  cry  out,  'They  are  not  with 
us,'  and  all  the  while  the  human  heart  will  be  yearning 
and  listening  for  some  strong  voice  in  the  wilderness  of 
doubt,  exclaiming,  'Behold  the  Lamb  of  God  that  taketh 
away  the  sins  of  the  world.'  " 

His  belief  in  the  paradoxical  truths  of  the  Crucifixion 
and  Resurrection  live  in  these  passages:  "The  new  Chris- 
tianity sees  in  the  sacrifice  of  Jesus  the  perpetual  principle, 
the  abiding  law,  of  the  individual.  It  would  not  have  the 
cross  lifted  up  merely  in  systems  of  theology  and  in  pulpit 
eloquence ;  it  would  have  the  cross  not  merely  exalted  upon 
church-spires  and  framed  into  sword-hilts,  and  held  in  the 
hand  of  the  prayerful,  and  ornamenting  the  breasts  of  de- 
voted recluses,  but,  above  all,  it  would  have  the  cross,  in  its 
vital  and  permanent  spirit,  borne  upon  the  heart  of  every 
disciple.  No  wonder  that  St.  Ambrose  saw  in  the  cross 
the  image  of  the  destroying  sword  thrust  into  the  earth. 
The  upper  end  is  the  hilt,  about  which  is  clasped  Al- 
mighty power.  The  outstretched  arms  are  the  guard, 
and  the  body  of  it  is  the  sharp  blade  driven  down  into  the 
head  of  the  old  red  dragon." 

"In  the  history  of  the  Church  men  unfortunately  seemed 
to  forget  that  ours  is  the  risen  Saviour.  What  meant  the 
gloom  and  asceticism  of  the  Middle  Ages?  What  meant 
the  perpetual  singing  of  the  Dies  Irae,  and  what  means  the 
everlasting  parade  in  some  of  the  European  cathedrals  of 
the  dead  Christ?  Shall  the  Psalms  of  David  be  alive  with 
spiritual  gladness  and  the  Church  of  the  risen  Lord  be 
sunk  into  anxiety  and  despair?  No  bridal  music  is  half  so 
glad  as  the  notes  in  which  faith  pours  forth  her  Easter 
song.  All  good  things  seem  possible  to  us  as  we  stand 
with  Jesus  beneath  the  olive  trees  of  the  garden  and  look 
back  at  the  broken  portals  and  empty  prison  of  His  tomb." 


2o8  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

The  following  are  quotations  from  a  sermon  on  the 
"Attractiveness  of  Christ:"  "Where  else  will  you  find 
a  love  which  covers  or  absorbs  the  whole  domain  of  life, 
like  that  which  Christ  has  called  forth  ?  The  love  which 
is  born  of  gratitude,  He  certainly  has  kindled  that.  The 
love  which  is  linked  with  reverent  and  perfect  admira- 
tion, He  certainly  has  commanded  that.  The  love  which 
rejoices  in  tender  communing  of  mind  with  mind,  He 
surely  has  evoked  that.  The  love  which  delights  to  pour 
itself  out  in  lyric  ecstasy,  that  He  certainly  has  gained  in 
amplest  measure,  as  witnessed  by  the  golden  treasury  of 
the  Christian  hymns.  The  love  which  is  pitiful  sorrow 
for  great  suffering,  the  love  which  bows  in  humble  adora- 
tion, the  love  which  inspires  men  to  endure  hardships, 
traverse  oceans,  penetrate  the  heart  of  the  American  or 
the  African  continent,  brave  dangers  from  savage  tribes 
or  wasting  pestilence,  submit  to  shame,  and  despise  death 
in  its  direst  forms,  all  these  manifestations  of  love  appear 
like  a  band  of  radiant  angels  about  the  Christ,  covering 
His  Cross  with  garlands  of  roses  and  forests  of  laurel. 

"In  al'i  greatest  souls  there  are  two  passions,  a  passion 
for  holiness  or  right  character,  and  a  passion  for  doing 
good.  In  the  Christian  the  two  are  one,  in  the  passion 
for  Christ.  He,  by  his  unparalleled  greatness,  fills  the 
mind  that  comes  to  know  Him  with  an  angelic  enthu- 
siasm. One  who  has  been  ensnared  by  the  golden  mesh  of 
the  Lord's  transfiguring  love  and  loveliness,  is  not  lightly 
drawn  away  to  meaner  attractions.  He  who  has  known 
and  seen  Jesus  has  seen  life  lifted  to  its  highest.  This 
man  had  the  secret  we  all  need  to  learn,  the  secret  which 
is  missed  equally  by  the  sensualist  and  the  materialist 
and  the  pessimist.  In  every  hour  of  hungry  disappoint- 
ment,  when   the   soul,  baffled   and   beaten   back,    is  still 


HIS  PREACHING 209 

craving  and  is  as  eager  as  ever  to  find  that  which  does  not 
disappoint,  there  comes  before  us  the  figure  of  this  trans- 
cendent being  calm  amid  all  storms,  victorious  in  all  ap- 
parent defeats,  royal  in  His  lowliest  service,  and  we  feel 
that  He  can  teach  us  His  own  secret  and  thus  cure  our 
trouble. 

"No  one  else  ever  brought  to  the  sinner  such  powerful 
incentives  to  escape  from  sin  or  such  strong  assurances 
that  sin  may  be  forgiven  and  overcome.  And  what  in- 
ducements, sweet  as  the  spring  sunshine,  fragrant  as  the 
breath  of  pine  forests  in  northern  solitudes,  many-voiced 
as  the  sound  of  the  sea,  tender  as  the  grace  which  breathed 
forgiveness  from  the  cross,  and  mighty  as  the  solemnities 
of  eternity.  He  presses  on  our  hearts  to  lead  us  to  commit 
their  keeping  unto  Him." 

"We  have  a  moral  and  intellectual  right,  with  all 
brotherly  kindness  in  our  souls,  to  ask  kings  and  sages, 
poets  and  prophets,  to  crown  Him  Lord  of  all.  In  the 
olden  days  when  the  German  emperor  was  chosen,  the 
three  archbishops  of  Treves,  Mayence,  and  Cologne,  girt 
him  with  the  sword  and  crowned  him  with  the  crown  of 
Charlemagne.  At  the  banquet  the  Bohemian  king  was 
his  cup-bearer,  the  Count  Palatine  plunged  his  knife  into 
the  roasted  ox  and  waited  on  his  master,  the  Duke  of 
Saxony  spurred  his  horse  into  heaps  of  golden  grain  and 
bore  off  a  full  measure  for  'his  lord,  while  the  Margrave 
of  Brandenburg  rode  to  a  fountain  and  filled  the  imperial 
ewer  with  water.  Standing  now,  as  in  the  presence  of  the 
chief  prophets  and  mightiest  forces  in  all  His  world,  let 
us  pray  for  and  expect  a  new  coronation  of  the  world's 
Christ,  the  rightful  Emperor  of  mankind.  Let  the 
churches  gird  Him  with  the  sword  of  spiritual  power 
and  crown  Him  with  the  royal  diadem  which  is  His  due ; 


210  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

let  princes  and  nobles  be  servants  of  His  Gospel;  let  kings 
and  emperors  wait  on  Him  who  is  the  Ancient  of  Days; 
let  cities  bring  great  measure  of  gold  to  publish  His 
Word,  and  let  universities,  forsaking  every  unworthy  and 
strange  idolatry  of  human  leaders,  fill  their  imperial  chal- 
ices from  the  River  of  the  Water  of  Life,  and  stand  at- 
tendant on  their  Lord." 

But  his  preaching  does  not  relate  simply  to  Christ.  It 
unveils,  in  the  second  place,  the  speaker's  own  profound 
love  for  every  human  being.  The  appellation  of  "Be- 
loved Disciple"  bestowed  upon  him  by  his  fellow  min- 
isters, was  suggested  by  the  gentleness,  charity,  compas- 
sion, and  faith  of  his  attitude  toward  men.  Humanity 
was  to  him  the  glory  of  the  universe,  people  not  systems, 
God's  instruments  of  progress.  "The  martyr  ashes  in 
the  Colosseum  outweigh  the  whole  Roman  Empire,"  he 
writes.  And  again,  "It  is  the  Devil's  own  creed  that 
omits  men's  divine  sonship ;  if  each  man  have  his  price, 
it  is  that  which  Jesus  set."  His  interest  in  human  rela- 
tions led  him  to  exclaim,  "The  age  of  Christian  theology 
is  being  followed  by  the  age  of  Christian  sociolog}\" 

For  all  his  sublime  faith  in  men  he  believed  that  their 
chief  need  is  moral.  We  are  almost  dismayed  by  his  in- 
sistence on  the  deadly  and  all-pervasive  properties  of  sin. 
In  hundreds  of  sermons  he  seems  to  be  crying  out,  "If  we 
say  that  we  have  no  sin  we  deceive  ourselves  and  the  truth 
is  not  in  us."  "You  cannot  rightly  or  safely  ignore  sin. 
You  might  as  well  push  back  Niagara  with  your  open 
palm.  The  trouble  with  the  skeptics  of  our  time  is  that 
they  have  followed  Renan's  example  and  'suppressed  sin,' 
have  sought  to  film  over  its  wound,  doubt  its  poison, 
refuse  its  remedy.  Hence  the  restlessness,  the  cynicism, 
the  pessimism  which  are  the  accompanirr'.ents  of  a  Christ- 


HIS  PREACHING 


less  culture."  Again  he  writes:  "  Some  men  are  in 
truth  like  Noah's  Ark,  carrying  a  menagerie  of  animals 
on  the  surface  of  the  sea  of  life,  and  if  you  put  your  ear 
close  to  them  you  will  hear  the  roar  of  the  lion  and  the 
hiss  of  the  serpent  and  the  low  snarl  of  the  fox ;  and  then 
the  scream  of  the  vulture,  the  howl  of  the  wolf,  the 
grunting  of  the  swine,  and  the  bray  of  the  wild  ass.  And 
the  men  we  reckon  on  the  whole  good,  and  indeed  among 
the  best,  show  at  times  this  strange  and  provoking  incon- 
sistency and  moral  versatility." 

His  conviction  of  the  impossibility  of  eluding  the  conse- 
quences of  sin  appears  in  this  passage:  "We  run  away 
from  the  scenes  where  our  wild  oats  were  sown ;  we  cover 
over  the  sores  that  have  made  us  suffer  with  bandages  of 
new  friends,  new  hopes,  new  virtues.  All  seems  as  though 
all  had  ever  been  right.  But  into  our  bodies  there  comes 
a  death-arrow  which  was  shot,  it  may  be,  twenty  years 
ago.  The  Greeks  were  not  wrong  in  imagining  that  a 
revengeful  fate  followed  a  wicked  house  down  the  line 
of  the  generations.  And  every  one  who  moves  through 
the  j^ears  is  aware  that  whatever  he  leaves  behind  follows 
after,  and  that  the  blood  and  bitterness  which  he  drops 
into  the  stream  of  life  leave  a  taste  and  a  colouring  which 
Time  may  lessen,  but  which  Time  alone  may  not  de- 
stroy." And  again  we  find  him  saying:  "If  this  be  not 
a  life  of  constant  and  fearful  temptation,  if  there  be  no 
terrible  experiences  and  possibilities  which  make  the  need 
of  such  a  Saviour  as  Christ  and  such  a  sacrifice  as  the 
cross  and  such  an  armoury  of  steel-bright  weapons  as  the 
Scriptures,  then  the  Bible  is  a  book  of  foolish  exaggera- 
tions. It  offers  us  oceans  when  we  need  only  goblets. 
It  is  bright  with  suns  when  candles  are   all-sui?icient." 

He  thus  makes  clear  his  opinion  that  vigorous  natures 


JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 


are  those  most  open  to  temptation :  "I  can  scarcely  con- 
ceive a  man  who  has  force  of  nature,  that  power  which 
overcomes  obstacles,  triumphs  in  creative  work,  and  be- 
comes a  master  in  any  department  of  activity,  who,  if 
we  knew  his  life,  would  not  be  seen  wrestling  at  certain 
crises  with  the  Prince  of  darkness.  And  such  men  are  not 
usually  in  any  doubt  about  the  evil  personality  who  has 
played  such  a  vast  part  in  human  affairs.  They  find  an 
echo  to  their  own  surmises,  or  an  explanation  of  their 
own  difficulties  in  the  Scriptural  representation  of  an  evil 
person,  the  head  of  the  kingdom  of  evil,  chained  to  a  de- 
gree, under  God's  authority,  but  for  inscrutable  reasons 
permitted  to  try  the  children  of  men.  If  in  your  life 
you  have  not  been  confronted  by  his  enticements,  it  may 
be  because  Satan  has  not  thought  it  worth  while  to  train 
his  heavy  artillery  on  such  small  deer.  The  old  Spanish 
pirates  used  to  strike  the  galleons  laden  with  the  gold 
of  Mexico  and  Peru.  They  knew  what  was  worth  gain- 
ing. It  is  the  souls  that  have  on  board  the  unsearchable 
riches  of  Christ  that  the  Devil  sets  his  covetous  and  deadly 
eyes  on."  He  thus  expresses  the  doubtful  appearance  of 
sin:  "Sin,  before  its  commission,  is  often  radiant  with 
attractions,  like  the  clouds  of  the  morning.  Sin,  after 
its  commission,  is  black  and  lurid  as  an  advancing 
thunder  storm,  from  which  there  is  no  hiding  place.  Sin 
was  one  thing  to  Judas  when  Jesus  was  washing  his  feet; 
quite  another  thing  when  remorse  was  eating  his  soul 
with  a  tooth  of  everlasting  fire."  To  escape  from  sin  we 
must  enter  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  which  comprises,  he 
tells  us,  "those  who  have  the  mind  of  the  king."  Some 
men  seem  to  happen  into  it,  others  spend  time  and 
strength   in   finding  it;   but  membership   in   it,   whether 


HIS  PREACHING 213 

gained  slowly  or  quickly,  belongs  only  to  those  born  of 
its  spirit. 

Assured  that  sin  contaminates  and  depraves  every  fac- 
ulty of  man,  and  convinced  that  it  can  be  escaped  only 
through  gaining  the  mind  of  Christ,  he  applied  himself 
with  energj'  to  impressing  this  twofold  truth.  Intimate 
understanding  of  his  people  and  ability  to  assail  sin,  not 
in  the  abstract  alone,  but  in  its  peculiar  manifestations, 
accorded  him  very  large  success.  So  perfectly  were  they 
adapted  to  their  hearers,  that  many  of  his  sermons  clearly 
depict  the  audience  for  which  they  were  written;  one 
composed  of  city  people  with  property  and  social  stand- 
ing, with  brains  and  culture,  yet  possessing  needs  similar 
to  those  of  their  less  endowed  fellows,  in  their  minister's 
mind  at  least,  for  he  declares:  "Some  men  who  have 
all  are  too  poor  to  crave  anything  but  pity."  They  were 
men  and  women  exposed  to  temptations  of  greed,  pride, 
frivolity,  hardness  of  heart,  skepticism  fostered  by  indif- 
ference, living  intricate  lives  freighted  with  responsibility, 
in  danger  in  their  quest  for  money,  pleasure,  and  knowl- 
edge, of  missing  righteousness,  faith,  and  joy.  This  leads 
their  minister  to  cry  out:  "If  God's  existence,  the  divine 
character  and  revelation  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  reality  of 
the  life  beyond  the  grave,  are  not  truths  that  live  and 
glow  in  the  heart  of  the  Christian ;  if  he  writes  'perhaps' 
or  'I  hope'  over  any,  or  even  if  it  come  to  be  true  to  him 
only  after  a  careful  series  of  reasonings  and  argumenta- 
tions; if  it  is  not  as  certain  and  intimate  to  his  very  soul 
as  the  air  he  breathes,  as  vital  to  his  daily  life  as  his  be- 
lief in  the  love  of  his  mother,  then  his  Christian  life  is 
at  best  one  of  careful  moralities,  and  not  also  one  of 
spiritual  life  and  joy.  I  know  very  well  what  devitalizes 
this  truth  to  many.     A  selfish  and  luxurious  and  worldly- 


214     JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

spirited  life  will  do  it.  Separation  from  living  sympathy 
with  men  will  do  it.  Absorption  in  purely  physical  studies 
will  often  do  it.  What  a  man  believes  depends  very 
largely  on  where  he  looks.  It  is  of  no  use  to  talk  with 
men  about  stars  if  they  are  all  the  while  gazing  into  a 
muddy  well.  If  the  well  were  clear  they  might  see  the 
Pleiades  looking  downward." 

"Christians  whirling  daily  in  a  giddy  circle  of  frivoli- 
ties are  no  more  likely  to  get  a  deep  and  adequate  impres- 
sion of  such  supreme  realities  as  God,  human  guilt,  the 
divine  wrath  against  sin,  the  atonement,  the  worth  of 
souls,  the  power  of  the  world  to  come,  the  crying  neces- 
sity of  seeking  lost  men  and  keeping  before  them  the  need 
of  a  Redeemer,  than  a  traveller  running  at  full  speed 
through  a  gallery  of  art  is  to  have  any  conception  of  the 
grace  of  Raphael  and  the  splendor  of  Titian.  By  the 
love  of  Him  who  died  on  Calvarj'  I  call  on  )'ou  to  stop 
and  think  and  repent  and  pray;  I  beseech  you  to  meditate 
on  the  vital  truths  of  God's  Word ;  to  measure  your  re- 
sponsibilities in  the  light  of  God's  mercy  to  you;  I  be- 
seech you  to  begin  with  your  heart,  and  then  to  be  right 
with  your  own  family,  and  brethren,  and  neighbors;  I 
ask  you  to  forsake  not  the  meeting  for  prayer,  but  to 
come  in  the  Spirit  and  to  seek  a  mightier  contact  with 
His  blessed  Almightiness;  I  ask  you  to  abide,  as  did  the 
early  disciples,  with  Christ  the  life,  and  you  shall  know 
the  joy  of  salvation  in  your  own  soul." 
.  He  once  tells  us  that:  "We  can  no  more  absorb  the 
Cross  through  the  reason  than  we  can  analyze  the  sun- 
beam with  the  keen  edge  of  a  razor."  Yet  he  also  says: 
"If  the  Christian  creed  cannot  abide  the  severest  testing 
of  the  intellect,  it  is  doomed,  and  rightly  so."  Hence, 
his   sermons   abound    in    practical    suggestions   of   many 


HIS  PREACHING  215 

kinds,  and  indicate  a  searching  knowledge  of  men,  as  the 
following  quotations  bear  witness:  "Some  men  want 
perfect  knowledge  "before  they  will  offer  perfect  obedi- 
ence. They  will  not  worship  until  their  temple  of  truth 
is  finished,  every  stone  from  the  everlasting  hills  of  God 
in  place,  every  buttress  impregnable,  every  window  clear- 
shining  with  the  light  of  heaven,  every  pinnacle  wrought 
out  in  perfect  beauty  as  it  springs  upwards  to  the  skies. 
They  are  like  some  mad  Italian  who  should  refuse  to 
worship  in  the  Milan  Cathedral  because,  though  it  gleams 
over  the  Lombard  plains  like  a  resplendent  crown,  there 
are  unfinished  portions  in  this  white  wilderness  of  marble, 
ornaments  not  in  place,  and  airy  pinnacles  j^et  waiting  for 
some  saintly  or  heroic  statue  to  complete  their  heavenward 
soaring.  Such  a  temple  of  faith  was  never  erected,  and 
never  will  be  till  heaven  and  earth  are  one,  and  all  the 
shadows  of  the  infinite  are  dispelled  by  the  light  of  the 
Great  White  Throne   on   high." 

"Judas,  like  the  rest  of  us,  could  endure  a  great  deal 
of  self-contempt,  but  was  unable  to  bear  up  under  public 
reproach.  We  can  get  along  with  the  discomforts  of  our 
own  conscience  for  a  time  more  easily  if  they  are  not 
reinforced  by  the  consciences  of  others,  finding  expression 
in  condemnation." 

"Where  a  man  is,  does  not  determine  his  character  and 
outcome  so  m.uch  as  the  way  he  is  heading.  Two  ships 
are  in  midocean,  one  is  bound  for  Liverpool  and  the 
other  for  New  York.  Every  day's  voyage  may  carry  one 
American  family  nearer  home,  and  another  family  farther 
away  from  it.  Two  men  are  at  the  same  spot  half  way 
up  the  mountain;  one  may  be  rushing  to  its  foot,  while 
the  other  is  climbing  to  its  far-viewing  summit." 

"It  is  not  the  historic  which  teaches  all  m.en  most  im- 


216  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

pressively.  The  great  picture  in  Berlin  of  the  late  Em- 
peror William  on  the  battle-field  of  Sadowa  may  move 
you  much  less  than  a  new  photograph  of  your  little  child, 
enclosed  in  a  letter  from  over  the  sea.  There  is  doubtless 
an  immense  dignity  and  nobility  belonging  to  man  as 
we  survey  the  pageants  of  the  past,  but  when  a  father 
watches  by  the  sick-bed  of  an  only  son  and  sees  the 
strength  ebbing  like  the  fast  retreating  tide,  when  the 
preciousness  of  that  one  bit  of  life  cheapens  all  the  treas- 
ures he  has  gathered,  and  when  at  last  the  bodiless  spirit 
takes  its  flight  into  the  voiceless  and  mystic  unknown, 
there  is  taught  to  one  soul  at  least  the  truth  that  a  single 
creature  of  God,  with  the  powers  and  possibilities  of 
manhood,  has  not  only  an  unspeakable  dignity,  but  also 
an  immeasurable  value." 

"There  is  to  me  no  more  beautiful  habit  than  that 
which  some  married  people  have  of  never  depreciating 
each  other  before  their  friends.  I  think  the  lack  of  this 
one  habit  has  led  many  of  the  young  men  and  women  of 
today  into  the  mistake  of  believing  that  there  are  only 
a  few  husbands  and  wives  who  have  been  married  ten 
years  that  really  care  much  for  each  other." 

"I  wish  that  we  would  learn  to  read  the  books  of  the 
Bible  more  sensibly.  We  take  up  the  Word  of  God  as 
we  take  up  a  jewel — to  look  at  it,  to  get  light  from  some 
beautiful  point  in  it,  and  thus  we  lose  the  movement,  the 
rush,  the  momentum,  which  might  come  to  us  from  read- 
ing at  one  sitting  an  entire  Gospel,  a  whole  Epistle,  or 
this  epic  poem  of  the  early  Church,  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles." 

"Many  have  made  shipwreck  of  their  faith,  by  always 
steering  their  craft  against  every  rock  on  the  coast  of 
this  ocean  of  truth.     Wise  navigators  prefer  a  safe  chan- 


HIS  PREACHING  217 


nel,  an  open  sea;  but  restless,  impracticable,  and  willful 
minds  often  covet  a  dangerous  shore.  They  go  through 
the  Bible,  not  like  the  traveller  who  keeps  the  safe  high- 
way, but  like  the  wayward  children  who  climb  over  the 
rocks  and  sport  along  the  stony  hedges  until,  foot-sore 
and  bleeding  they  ask,  'Is  this  the  way  of  life?'  The 
wayfaring  man,  though  a  fool,  need  not  err  if  he  seek 
from  this  Book  chiefly  a  safe,  practical  direction  in  the 
path  of  duty;  but  the  wayfaring  man  may  be  a  prodigy 
of  learning  and  metaphysical  acuteness,  and  wander  far 
off  from  the  truth,  if  he  is  seeking  chiefly  to  solve  all 
difficulties  and  explore  the  heart  of  every  mystery." 

"The  evidences  of  Christianity  may  grow  clearer  age 
after  age  till  they  become  like  the  legend  of  God's  glory 
which  is  written  out  on  the  starry  heavens  above  us,  but 
so  long  as  human  nature  remains  unchanged,  so  long  as 
men  are  disinclined  to  a  self-sacrificing  and  holy  life, 
there  will  be  skeptics." 

Besides  his  love  for  men  and  his  attempt  to  satisfy  va- 
rious human  needs  with  his  message,  his  sermons,  in  the 
third  place,  proclaim  him  somewhat  of  a  mystic.  To 
stand  consciously  in  God's  presence  was  to  him  a  possi- 
bility and  the  most  genuine  of  realities.  This  presence 
was  not  confined  to  any  local  habitation.  It  might  be 
met  on  State  Street  just  as  truly  as  at  the  door  of  Abra- 
ham's tent,  on  the  Island  of  Patmos,  or  in  Savonarola's 
cell.  But  whenever,  wherever,  to  whomsoever  the  vision 
appeared,  its  effect  was  ever  the  same,  to  alter  the  fashion 
of  the  beholder's  countenance.  He  trusted  in  the  mes- 
sages of  his  highest  moments.  Feeling  the  impress  of  the 
Spirit  was  an  experience  whose  quality  made  it  the  de- 
termining and  interpreting  force  in  his  life.  To  the 
divine  impulses  of  the  unseen  world   about  him,  which 


2i8  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

sapped  the  sources  of  sin  and  of  despair,  are  rightly  attrib- 
utable his  calm  amid  perplexities,  his  quick  renewal  of 
depleted  energies,  and  his  courage  after  failure  for  new 
attempts.  "Faith,"  he  tells  us,  "is  the  highest  effort 
of  mind,  the  mind  grasping  the  eternal,"  and  this  faith 
permeates  his  sermons.  His  God  is  that  of  the  Hebrews, 
personal,  present,  and  loving.  "The  deities  of  other  na- 
tions," he  says,  "are  now  only  a  dream,  a  whiff  of  ancient 
mist  gilding  some  far-off  morning  of  the  past."  "O, 
would  that  I  might  destroy  for  you  the  cold  abstraction 
which  some  of  you  call  God."  "I  know  men  have  a 
thousand  various  conceptions  of  God ;  I  know  that  lo 
some  He  is  only  a  vagueness  undefined  that  fills  the  uni- 
verse, intangible,  cold,  and  comfortless;  that  to  some  He 
is  only  a  speculation,  a  collection  of  qualities  that  mean 
nothing  attractive  in  the  same  way  that  a  rose  is  attrac- 
tive to  the  eye,  or  a  beautiful  face  is  attractive  to  the 
heart;  I  know  that  to  some  God  is  a  terror  and  a  black 
cloud  of  wrath  that  touches  the  earth  only  as  the  light- 
ning does,  to  pierce  and  blight  it.  But  to  the  Christian. 
God  is  He  who  said,  'I  and  my  Father  are  one.'  "  "In 
the  early  evening,  on  the  Atlantic  coast,  I  have  sometimes 
been  watching  the  stars,  when  suddenly  a  fog  from  the 
ocean  swept  inland,  covering  the  earth  and  blotting  out 
the  heavens.  So  the  idea  of  God  as  a  mist  filling  all 
things,  even  though  it  be  the  golden  mist  of  Pantheism, 
blots  out  every  star  of  truth  and  hope,  for  the  Divine  per- 
sonality is  obliterated.  The  Hebrew  prophets  made  no 
such  mistake,  and  what  a  comfort  there  is  in  their  mani- 
fold representations  of  God  as  father,  mother,  husband, 
king,  fortress,  sun,  shield,  rock,  and  star." 

"The  root  of  skepticism  is  the  banishing  of  a  personal 
God  from  ourselves.    There  is  a  faith  which  nothing  dis- 


HIS  PREACHING 219 

turbs,  and  that  is  the  faith  which  springs  from  experience. 
If  we  have  seen  God,  if  we  have  felt  His  indwelling  love, 
then  we  shall  walk  day  by  day  as  in  a  supernatural  world. 
The  attitude  of  some  men  toward  the  world  of  the  Spirit 
is  that  of  a  blind  man  who  denies  the  existence  of  the 
sun.  They  do  not  need  proof  or  facts;  what  they  need 
is  capacity  of  vision."  "The  secret  of  perfection  is  to 
know  God's  presence."  "Behold  Him  in  the  light,  as 
the  Persian  poets  did,  for  He  is  there.  See  Him  in  the 
sun,  as  the  makers  of  the  Hindu  Scriptures  did.  Breathe 
in  His  life  as  you  breathe  the  morning  air,  for  it  is  God's 
atmosphere  in  which  you  dwell."  "Death  is  mighty, 
mighty  enough  to  tear  the  mother  from  her  children,  the 
monarch  from  his  throne,  the  idolater  from  his  idols,  the 
miser  from  his  hoard,  the  school-boy  from  his  books,  the 
dying  actress  from  her  jewels,  the  statesman  from  his 
place  in  the  halls  of  legislation,  the  man  of  business  from 
the  roaring  exchange.  Death  can  separate  us  from  'this 
visible,  diurnal  sphere,'  but  has  no  power  to  separate  us 
from  that  love  which  saved  us  and  will  cherish  us  forever. 
And  'life'  shall  not  separate  us  from  God's  love.  It  fol- 
lows us  from  the  mountain  heights  of  childhood,  over 
the  broad  rich  fields,  and  through  the  tangled  forests  of 
middle  life  and  of  earth's  closing  years,  into  the  eternal 
sea;  and  there  it  brings  us  a  glory  and  a  joy  such  as  the 
world  has  never  known.  And  though  life  separates, 
oftentimes,  the  friendships  of  this  world ;  though  these 
friendships  appear  like  the  school-day  attachments,  which 
in  a  few  years  are  so  outgrown  that  we  forget  the  name 
of  the  boy  who  recited  his  Latin  grammar  by  our  side  in 
the  old  academy  on  the  hilltop ;  God's  love,  like  His 
memory,  never  fades ;  and  when  a  thousand  summers  have 
adorned    the    valleys    with    blossoms,    and    a    thousand 


320  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

autumns  have  decked  the  hills  with  crimson  and  gold,  we 
shall  be  nearer  to  God's  soul  than  the  first-born  child 
is  to  its  mother's  heari-." 

He  was  too  true  a  mystic  to  over-emphasize  miracles. 
Christ's  personality  was  to  him  the  great  miracle;  and 
Christ  would  have  appeared  to  him  divine,  were  his  in- 
dividual acts  all  explicable  by  natural  laws  and  had  his 
physical  birth  been  attended  by  no  marvelous  signs.  Yet, 
as  natural  corollaries  to  his  faith  in  the  unseen,  he  be- 
lieved in  miracles,  in  angels,  and  in  heaven,  with  the 
simple  faith  of  the  little  child  and  the  great  man.  "The 
Word  of  God,"  he  says,  "is  not  a  field  all  blazing  with 
sunlight.  Clouds  hover  over  it;  for,  even  with  this  book 
in  our  hands,  the  Apostle  tells  us  we  know  in  part. 
Shadows  fall  on  its  pages — the  shadows  of  the  Infinite. 
It  is  impossible  that  we  should  comprehend  God.  We 
may  apprehend  Him — that  is,  lay  hold  of  His  nature, 
touch  the  shining  hem  of  His  holiness  and  the  soft  hand 
of  His  grace,  but  who  shall  grasp  the  fullness,  or  measure 
the  altitude  of  His  being  and  comprehend  the  circumfer- 
ence of  His  truth?"  "It  was  natural  that  the  Holy  One 
of  Nazareth,  whose  touch  is  the  life  of  our  civilization 
today,  whose  spirit  is  the  very  breath  of  God,  should  do 
the  works  of  the  Father.  Miracles  are  the  'burning  bush' 
in  the  divine  Word  drawing  men  ever  aside  to  listen  to 
the  voice  of  God;  and  when  they  ask  why  this  burning 
bush  is  not  consumed,  the  answer,  as  in  the  day  of  Moses, 
is  now  and  ever  shall  be,  'Because  God  is  in  it.'  "  Of 
angels  he  says:  "It  is  these  ministering  spirits,  one  with 
Christ  in  suffering  sympathy  with  us,  whom  we  meet 
when  first,  and  when  last,  we  look  upon  our  Lord.  There 
was  movement  and  holy  ecstasy  in  the  upper  air  when 
Jesus  was  born  in  the  lowly  manger.     The  dawn  of  our 


HIS  PREACHING 


redemption  is  glorified  by  their  radiance.  And  when  all 
was  finished,  and  the  clouds  hid  the  ascending  Lord  from 
straining,  earthly  eyes  that  saw  Him  not,  even  through 
the  telescope  of  tears,  they  lingered  by,  like  the  glowing 
colors  of  evening  when  the  sun  is  gone,  and  foretold  His 
final  coming.  Remembering  their  ministries,  so  august 
and  tender,  shall  we  not  heed  the  entreaties  of  the  Divine 
Word  to  make  our  peace  with  God,  because  of  the 
angels?"  He  writes  of  heaven:  "It  is  a  locality  as  well 
as  a  condition  of  mind,  and  wherever  it  is,  however  far 
removed  from  the  universe  which  we  perceive,  even 
though  our  astronomical  lenses  may  never  discern  it. 
Heaven  is  God's  dwelling-place,  where  He  reigns  in 
super-eminent  glory,  and,  though  we  may  seem  to  be  far 
from  it,  the  infinite  Jehovah,  to  whom  this  universe  is 
but  the  outward  expression  of  His  power  and  wisdom, 
may  be  surely  depended  on  to  take  us  there,  for  in  God's 
hands  there  is  safety." 

God  and  immortality  are  to  him  inseparable,  and  fur- 
nish the  soul's  chief  motives.  "If  no  future,  edged  with 
intolerable  radiance  like  the  empurpled  bars  of  sunset, 
lies  along  the  horizon  of  our  lives,  then  we  have  no  God, 
for  God  assures  of  transformation  and  of  higher  life. 
Take  from  the  Christian  heart  the  sweet  hope  of  im- 
mortality, and  all  our  highest  impulses  would  be  shriv- 
eled. Even  Jesus  our  Lord  endured  the  Cross,  despising 
the  shame,  because  of  the  joy  that  was  set  before  Him. 
It  is  not  easy  to  walk  the  burning  stairs  of  self-sacrifice, 
except  when  confident  that  they  reach  up  at  last  to  the 
gates  of  pearl." 

And  he  was  full  of  vitalizing  assurance  and  cheer. 
"I  can  hardly  think,"  he  writes,  "of  any  soul  that  is 
flooded  with  a  sense  of  the  majesty,  and  that  is  filled 


JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 


with  the  consciousness  of  the  mercy  and  goodness  of 
Christ,  that  is  habitually,  or  even  frequently,  cast  down 
by  fear,  and  hampered  by  those  petty  timidities  which 
make  so  many  people  the  slaves  of  the  opinions  of  fools, 
or  cowards  before  the  uncertainties  of  life,  property,  and 
health ;  for  the  truly  Christly  soul,  having  been  linked  in 
love  and  faith  to  the  all-loving  and  the  altogether  lovely, 
has  come  to  judge  this  world  with  other  than  human 
judgments  and  to  look  out  upon  time  and  change  and 
sorrow  with  eyes  that  are  often  turned  to  that  victorious 
Author  and  Finisher  of  our  faith,  who,  having  borne  the 
Cross,  is  now  regnant  in  eternal  glory." 

The  final  impression  that  he  leaves  is  always  of  nec- 
essary ultimate  triumph  to  men  of  faith.  "We  shall  see 
God;  we  shall  have  perfect  knowledge  and  shall  be  free 
from  sickness,  sorrow,  pain,  hunger,  thirst,  tears.  Ordi- 
nary language  is  insufficient  to  express  what  God  has  pre- 
pared for  us.  Who  knows  the  meaning  of  the  words  that 
tell  of  eating  of  the  'hidden  manna,'  of  having  the  'white 
stone'  and  the  'new  name,'  of  being  given  the  'morning 
star,'  of  partaking  of  the  'tree  of  life,'  of  being  led  of 
God  to  the  'living  fountains  of  waters,'  of  standing  on 
the  'sea  of  glass,'  of  having  His  name  in  our  foreheads 
and  of  sitting  on  His  throne?  But,  though  the  words  are 
mysterious,  out  of  them  come  sweetest  visions;  and  the 
blessings  that  they  prophesy  have  their  beginnings  and 
counterparts  here;  and  it  is  not  possible  to  imagine  mo- 
tives greater  or  finer  or  nobler,  leading  to  repentance  and 
holy  living.  Immortality,  freedom  from  sin,  joy,  growth 
in  knowledge  and  power,  serving  God  always  in  His  uni- 
verse— what  can  one  desire  above  these?" 


CHAPTER  XII 

HIS   PREACHING   AND  ITS   REVELATION    OF    HIMSELF 

(Continued) 

"My  God  has  been  slowly  fashioned,  so  to  speak,  out 
of  the  elements  and  forces  furnished  through  the  whole 
experience  of  life.  Into  my  conception  there  has  entered 
something  that  came  from  my  mother's  early  prayers, 
something  from  my  father's  love  of  beauty,  of  right- 
eousness, and  of  freedom,  something  from  the  streaming 
eyes  of  the  earnest  college  President  who  prayed  for  the 
salvation  of  the  students,  something  from  the  peace 
which  came  to  my  heart  when  I  looked  toward  the  Cruci- 
fied and  felt  the  burden  gone,  something  associated  with 
the  impression  of  God's  greatness  when  I  first  ascended 
the  slope  of  a  lofty  mountain  and  saw  half  of  New  Eng- 
land spread  out  before  me.  God  is  associated  in  my 
thought  with  doxologies  sung  over  a  nation's  triumph, 
with  strange  raptures  which  came  at  sea  while  looking  at 
the  wild,  tumbling  crags  of  the  ocean.  He  is  linked  with 
those  deeper  joys  which  the  pastor  knows  in  the  midst  of 
his  first  revival.  God  means  compassion  towards  my 
many  short-comings  and  sins,  tender  wisdom  and  mercy, 
both  in  chastisement  and  in  rescue,  a  deep  sense  of  His 
goodness  in  the  home  when  children  have  been  born  or 
have  been  saved  from  death,  and  He  means  more  and 
more  that  mental  expansion  which  is  brought  through 
communion  with  His  liberating  and  life-giving  Word. 
Now  this  atom   of  knowledge,   this   faintest   glimpse  of 


334  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

God  is  the  source  of  whatever  goodness  or  serviceableness 
we  possess.  How  much  more  we  might  know,  how  much 
more  we  shall  know!" 

With  such  a  faith  and  the  belief  that  preaching  might 
be  made  the  "clearest  trumpet  of  the  armies  of  Christ," 
he  naturally  spent  himself  upon  his  sermons.  These  he 
always  wrote,  but  such  was  his  memory  that  after  an 
hour's  work  he  could  repeat  a  sermon  verbatim.  There- 
fore, until  his  nervous  breakdown  in  1886,  he  spoke  with- 
out notes,  and  even  after  that  he  was  never  bound  to  his 
manuscript  in  preaching.  Thus,  while  possessing  the 
careful  preparation  of  the  writer,  he  attained  in  the  pul- 
pit the  ease  of  the  extemporaneous  speaker.  Since  his 
motto  was  "Say  something  in  every  sentence,  and  some- 
thing that  the  people  care  to  hear,"  he  devoted  part  of 
each  morning  to  study.  "The  best  preparation  for  ser- 
mon-writing," he  says,  "I  often  find  to  be  the  reading  of 
some  poet  that  enkindles  the  imagination.  I  do  my  best 
preaching  when  I  have  a  mind  kept  full  by  reading  on 
some  great  subject  outside  the  line  of  the  minister's  chief 
studies."  His  sermons  were  composed  in  many  different 
ways — sometimes  written  at  white  heat.  More  often  he 
dictated  an  outline  and  rough  notes  to  his  wife,  early  in 
the  week,  and  on  Saturday  declaimed  to  his  stenographer 
in  an  hour  and  a  half,  the  whole  sermon,  speaking  as  if 
directly  to  his  congregation.  As  a  general  thing  this  ser- 
mon was  based  less  on  the  thinking  of  that  week  than  on 
the  work  of  previous  weeks  and  months.  Sometimes  he 
kept  the  thought  for  years  to  ripen  it,  with  the  result  that 
few  hasty  conclusions  mar  his  utterances.  This  practice  did 
not  deter  him,  however,  from  timely  application  of  his 
thinking.  Sermons  on  municipal  reform  were  given  in 
times  of  political  agitation;  his  ideas  on  Christ's  relation 


HIS  PREACHING— CONTINUED 225 

to  the  social  question  appear  along  with  the  hanging  of 
the  anarchists,  the  issue  of  "Looking  Backward,"  and 
the  Pullman  strike.  When  his  hearers'  minds  are  full  of 
Ingersoll's  lectures,  he  attacks  agnosticism;  when  the 
papers  discuss  a  new  Presbyterian  creed,  the  trial  of  Pro- 
fessor Briggs,  or  the  Sunday  opening  of  the  World's  Fair, 
he  preaches  on  a  modified  Calvinism,  higher  criticism,  or 
the  American  Sunday.  Nor  did  his  careful  preparation 
prevent  his  discarding  a  newly-written  sermon  when,  as 
sometimes  happened,  his  mood  changed,  or  Sunday  morn- 
ing brought  to  his  notice  some  pressing  need  of  his  audi- 
ence which  his  sermon  failed  to  meet. 

Moreover,  mere  discernment  of  truth  seemed  to  him 
insufficient  qualification  for  effectiveness.  His  eulogy  of 
the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  reads:  "This  sermon  is  not 
made  up  of  brilliant  speculations;  it  is  not  a  constellation 
of  maybes,  perhapses,  guesses,  bright  suggestions;  it  is  the 
voice  of  the  eternal,  the  word  that  was  with  God  and 
was  God  uttering  itself  to  men  who  need  to  be  lifted 
above  the  region  of  speculations,  above  the  uncertainties 
of  human  thought  into  the  atmosphere  and  altitude  of 
God's  eternity."  Yet  he  believed  even  the  voice  of  the 
eternal  to  be  powerless  unless  so  pitched  that  men  can  hear 
it.  He  usually  preached  more  than  half  an  hour  at  a 
time.  Still  he  perceived  clearly  that,  unless  it  defeat  its 
purpose,  a  sermon  must  seem  short.  To  this  end,  its  de- 
livery, composition,  and  effect  demanded  careful  study. 
At  intervals  he  studied  elocution  with  a  teacher;  and  al- 
though when  in  the  pulpit  all  rules  for  gesture  slipped  his 
mind,  his  well-modulated  voice,  and  his  commanding 
presence  held  the  audience.  His  friends,  remembering 
John  of  Antioch,  "the  golden  tongued,"  called  him 
Chrysostom. 


226  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

To  the  structure  of  his  sermon  he  gave  the  attention  of 
a  rhetorician.  At  times  the  proverbial  homiletic  first, 
secondly,  thirdly  serve  to  connect  its  points;  more  often 
the  skeleton,  though  well  knit  together,  is  so  clothed  that 
not  even  the  joints  protrude.  Frequently  the  order  is 
historical,  the  past  preceding  the  present;  again  it  is  log- 
ical, efFects  leading  him  to  causes.  Sometimes,  when  his 
tone  is  argumentative,  possible  objections  are  refuted  in 
turn.  But  whatever  the  order,  his  sermons  are  singu- 
larly unified,  each  division  related  closely  not  simply  to 
its  neighbors,  but  to  the  central  truth  under  considera- 
tion. Besides,  he  guards  lest  his  thought  seem  stationary ; 
it  runs  like  a  melody  through  the  whole,  bearing  the 
reader  with  it,  for  to  his  mind  movement,  like  unity,  is  a 
chief  requisite  for  securing  the  effect  of  brevity.  Their 
potential  momentum  may  account  for  his  fondness  for 
series  of  sermons.  Of  these  he  wrote  many,  on  such 
themes  as  Early  Jewish  History,  the  Temptations  of 
Christ,  the  Lord's  Prayer,  The  Beatitudes,  The  Com- 
mandments, and  different  phases  of  a  man's  life. 

But  unity  and  movement  are  not  his  chief  achievement 
in  expression.  Writing  of  Mr.  Beecher,  he  truly  de- 
scribed himself:  "He  never  affects  a  colorless  simplicity 
that  has  no  beauty  in  it."  Truth  was  to  him  infinite  in 
suggestion  and  warm  in  its  emotional  tone.  Variety  of 
form  and  richness  of  texture  were  therefore  his  natural 
and  chosen  means  of  exposition.  The  use  of  two  texts  as 
foils  to  one  another,  is  one  of  his  favorite  devices.  "Th<; 
wages  of  sin  is  death"  and  "Ye  shall  not  surely  die"  head 
one  sermon.  Another  on  "The  Shadow  and  the  Sub- 
stance" opens  with  the  words:  "Man  Fleeth  as  a 
Shadow."  "Unto  Thee  will  I  cry,  O  Lord,  my  Rock." 
In  the  interests  of  movement,  many  of  his  sentences  are 


HIS  PREACHING— CONTINUED  227 

long.  But  monotony  is  often  broken  and  the  thought 
pinned  down  by  the  insertion  of  shorter  sentences,  often 
figures  of  speech,  such  as:  "  'If  and  'But,'  between  these 
two  words  how  many  souls  has  Satan  crucified."  "Noth- 
ing makes  such  cowards  as  unfaithfulness."  "We  must 
not  wither  the  blossom  of  the  Gospel  into  an  apothecary's 
drug  to  be  bought  at  a  fixed  price."  "Prayers  from  an 
unforgiving  heart  are  like  flint  arrows  sent  straight  sky- 
ward that  fall  back  on  our  own  souls." 

In  his  earlier  sermons  he  spins  similes  and  metaphors 
like  a  gold  web  across  his  pages,  not  to  conceal  defective 
logic  or  faulty  proportion,  but  as  an  additional  means  of 
appeal.  They  usually  seem  the  natural  overflowing  of  a 
full  mind  and  heart.  The  following  citations  may  re- 
veal their  nature: 

"We  are  seeking  unity,  not  by  getting  all  men  to  sub- 
scribe to  the  same  metaphysical  creed,  not  by  forcing  their 
heads  under  the  same  sacerdotal  fingers,  not  by  plunging 
their  bodies  under  the  same  cleansing  waters,  but  by 
bringing  about  a  sense  of  spiritual  fellowship  in  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  just  as  the  unity  of  the  branches  of  an  oak 
tree  is  found  in  this,  that  they  draw  the  life-giving  sap 
from  the  same  roots,  whereas  the  ecclesiastical  idea  of 
unity  is  found  in  the  lopping  off  of  all  the  wide-spread 
latitude  of  the  oak's  boughs,  or  compressing  them  into 
one  body  till,  like  a  liberty  pole,  it  stands  tall,  smooth, 
■straight,  and  dead,  fitted  only  to  fly  from  its  top  some 
narrow  streamer  scrawled  over  with  sectarian  watch- 
words." 

"God  does  not  shower  miracles  on  the  earth  as  He  does 
snowflakes  in  the  winter.  A  single  flake  falling  in  the 
course  of  a  thousand  years  would  excite  admiration  and 


228  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

delight.  The  storms  of  the  winter  season  excite  in  some 
minds  quite  different  emotions." 

"When  Satan  seizes  hold  of  some  passage  that  is  poetic, 
and  makes  it  literal,  he  holds  out  a  glittering  bait  that 
covers  a  sharp,  dangerous  hook." 

"Life  is  something  that  is  fed  by  memories  that  go 
back,  like  angels,  to  the  Cross  of  Christ,  and  by  hopes  that 
wing  their  way  heavenward  to  the  Throne  of  God  and  of 
the  Lamb." 

"The  sayings  of  Jesus  seem  the  easy  expressions  of 
One  who  was  greater  far  than  what  He  said,  snowy 
petals  shaken  by  the  breezes  of  discussion  from  the 
boughs  of  this  tree  of  life." 

His  experience  taught  him  that  men  often  deem  a  truth 
worn  out,  simply  because  its  everyday  apparel  is  thread- 
bare and  ill-fitting;  such  a  dress  he  was  ever  seeking  to 
replace.  Yet  for  some  minds  his  figures  were  too  nu- 
merous, at  times  distracting.  And  it  is  noticeable  that 
in  his  later  sermons  he  uses  far  less  figurative  language. 
As  his  thought  strengthens  with  years  and  his  people  be- 
come his  friends,  his  homiletic  stjde  grows  ever  less 
rhetorical,  though  always  rich  in  color. 

As  an  additional  means  of  force  he  employs  illustra- 
tions as  well  as  imager}\  These  are  sometimes  pathetic, 
again  humorous,  always  stimulating.  On  poetry,  his- 
tor)^,  personal  reminiscence,  music,  and  science  he  draws 
freely.  Every  experience  was  to  him  a  symbol  of  some 
aspect  of  truth,  so  that  such  dissimilar  things  as  the 
treakfast-table,  factory,  ocean  steamer,  picture  gallery, 
stock  exchange,  golf  links,  and  ball-room  creep  into  his 
preaching.  These  selections  from  his  sermons  on  "Re- 
ligion the  Motive  Power  of  Human  Progress"  and  on 


HIS  PREACHING— CONTINUED  229 

"Christianity  in  Our  National  Life"  well  exemplify  his 
illustrations: 

"If  the  sharp-tongued  critics  of  religion  would  study 
the  genius  of  the  Gospels  they  might  gain  juster  views  of 
Christian  faith.  The  chemist  who  explores  only  a  poi- 
soned atmosphere  is  not  likely  to  understand  the  proper- 
ties of  air.  Suppose  some  brilliant  babbler  in  science 
should  have  the  following  experience:  He  sits  by  his 
evening  lamp — a  gust  of  wind  blows  it  out ;  he  walks  the 
street — the  cold  air  chills  him ;  he  ascends  a  mountain — 
the  thin  air  makes  him  gasp  for  breath ;  he  crosses  the 
ocean — a  hurricane  imperils  the  ship ;  he  descends  into  an 
English  coal-pit — the  choke-damp  endangers  his  life;  he 
crosses  the  Campagna  of  Rome — a  deadly  wind  withers 
his  strength ;  he  looks  down  into  Vesuvius — a  sulphurous 
gust  half  chokes  him.  WHiereupon  he  returns  home  and 
having  thought  over  all  his  painful  experiences  with  the 
atmosphere,  he  takes  the  platform  and  announces  his  con- 
viction that  air  is  the  greatest  curse  of  the  world !  Fools 
listen  and  applaud,  forgetting  that  in  this  vast  ethereal 
ocean  we  move  and  have  our  being,  and  that  without  It, 
all  'life  dies,  death  lives,  and  nature  breeds  perverse.' 
So  religion  is  the  atmosphere  in  which  humanity  lives, 
and  rather  than  dispense  with  it,  we  can  well  endure  the 
thin  air  of  ritualism,  the  cold  fogs  of  bigotry,  and  even 
the  noxious  vapors  of  cruel  superstition." 

"It  is  said  that  an  Illinois  farmer  plants  corn  to  feed 
swine  to  buy  land,  to  plant  more  corn  to  feed  more  swine 
in  order  to  get  more  money  to  buy  still  more  land  to 
plant  still  more  acres  of  corn  to  feed  still  more  herds  of 
swine.  And  woe  be  unto  us  if  our  boasted  America  ends 
in  swine  or  the  fruits  of  a  material  civilization  merely. 
I  would  that  in  the  midst  of  our  selfish  and  spendthrift 


230 JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

lives  we  might  catch  something  of  the  spirit  of  that 
Western  preacher  who  once  had  a  vacation,  and  went  to 
a  boarding  house  in  Saratoga,  and  thence  wrote  home  to 
his  wife  that  a  certain  fashionable  woman's  habiliments 
and  adornments,  as  he  reckoned,  were  equivalent  to  one 
meeting-house,  seven  cabinet  organs,  and  forty-two  Sun- 
day-school libraries!" 

"Three  years  after  the  close  of  the  Franco- 
Prussian  war,  it  was  my  fortune  to  be  present  at 
the  trial  of  IMarshal  Bazaine  in  the  little  palace  among 
the  woods  of  Versailles  which  Louis  XIV.  had  erected 
for  one  of  his  favorites.  Bazaine,  as  you  remember,  had 
shown  great  irresolution  at  the  siege  of  Metz,  resulting  in 
disaster  to  France,  and  when  he  sought  to  exculpate  him- 
self by  declaring  that  he  could  not  tell  what  was  the 
government  of  the  country,  or  if  it  still  had  any  gov- 
ernment, the  President  of  the  military  tribunal,  the  Due 
d'Aumale,  burst  forth  on  the  Marshal  with  the  pathetic 
and  passionate  cry:  'Mais  In  France,  la  France.'  The 
instinct  of  the  nation's  indestructible  life  found  expression 
in  that  intense  and  ringing  utterance.  France  still  lived, 
and  to  her  ever>^  soldier  and  citizen  owed  supreme  and 
instant  allegiance.  Though  her  Emperor  was  a  prisoner 
and  his  empire  a  ruin,  though  the  Prussian  cavalry  had 
swept  over  her  vine-clad  hills,  and  the  Prussian  artillery 
had  crushed  her  army  at  Sedan,  though  a  hostile  sovereign 
held  her  fortresses  in  his  iron  hand  and  encamped  his 
cuirassiers  in  the  heart  of  Paris,  in  those  Elysian  fields 
between  the  gorgeous  palace  of  the  Tuileries  and  the 
great  arch  of  the  First  Napoleon's  triumphs,  France,  the 
nation,  was  not  dead.  She  extemporized  a  government, 
liberated  her  soil,  paid  her  indebtedness,  and  rose  up 
purified  and  strengthened  to  moral  heights  never  reached 


HIS  PREACHING— CONTINUED  231 

before.  And  so,  though  our  horizon  is  lurid  with  the 
camp-fires  of  evil,  though  the  nien  of  Babylon  have  built 
their  temples  in  the  vales  that  have  been  dedicated  to  a 
pure  Gospel,  though  Mammon  and  Belial  and  Moloch 
have  erected  ten  thousand  altars  in  our  great  cities,  and 
though  envious  hosts  from  other  lands  shake  their  fists 
at  the  palaces  and  towers  of  our  Christian  Zion,  tonight 
let  the  ringing  cry  of  faith  go  forth,  'But  Christ,  but 
Christ!'  He  still  lives,  the  God-man  that  was  delivered 
unto  death  for  our  offenses  and  raised  from  the  sepulchre 
for  our  justification,  Christ  who  hath  all  power  in  heaven 
and  earth,  He  holds  in  His  hands  the  reins  of  universal 
government  and  athwart  the  devices  of  all  error  and 
evil,  and  along  the  footpaths  of  all  history,  from  the 
morning  of  time  until  now,  He  directs  the  serene  and  un- 
wearied Omnipotence  of  redeeming  love." 

His  sermons  are  not  theological  treatises,  though  he 
offered  with  clear  logic  a  modified  Calvinism.  Nor, 
though  of  sound  judgment,  did  he  write  critical  essays 
distinguished  by  subtle  analyses  and  delicate  phrasing. 
He  loves  truth,  yet  philosophical  abstractions  do  not  com- 
pose the  chief  part  of  his  pages,  and  shrewd  worldly  wis- 
dom fills  still  less.  His  method  is,  on  the  whole,  not  that 
of  the  logician  but  that  of  the  artist.  His  greatness  lies 
not  so  much  in  the  weight  of  his  thought  as  in  his 
depth  of  feeling,  and  command  of  vivid  expression.  His 
sermons  are  his  visions,  and  they  filled  the  eyes  and  melted 
the  hearts  of  his  hearers.  He  is  wonderfully  concrete, 
presenting  beautiful  pictures  in  words  full  of  music. 
Many  pages  of  his  illustrate  this  as  perfectly  as  the  fol- 
lowing paragraph: 

"  'Man  fleeth  as  a  shadow.'  What  is  a  shadow? 
Nothing;  it  is  the  absence  of  light,  some  obstruction  has 


232  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

come  between  the  earth  and  sun,  light  has  been  inter- 
cepted, and  as  rapidly  as  light  moves  so  the  shadow  with- 
draws itself.  A  leaf  creates  it,  a  limb,  a  tree,  a  fence,  a 
snow-flake,  a  cloud,  a  house,  a  flower,  a  church  spire,  a 
child's  hand.  It  is  very  beautiful  like  life  itself.  Nature 
delights  in  shadows,  they  are  essential  to  loveliness  and 
to  expression,  and  the  master  of  light  and  shade  is  the 
great  painter.  But  O,  how  swiftly  the  shadows  flee 
away!" 

His  sermons,  however,  reveal  in  their  picturesque  and 
beautiful  form  not  merely  intensity  of  conviction  and 
spiritual  insight,  but  his  singular  completeness;  a  many- 
sidedness  and  largeness  of  view  due  to  a  rare  docility  of 
spirit  which  prevented  his  own  conception  of  truth  from 
eclipsing  God's  revelation.  "I  am  determined,"  he  says, 
"that  nothing  shall  keep  me  from  entering  into  heartiest 
sympathy  with  all.  I  prefer  to  see  the  good  things, 
rather  than  the  evil,  in  every  body  of  Christians.  No 
pope  shall  excommunicate  me  from  being  a  good  Catholic. 
I  shall  never  cease  to  cherish  grateful  thoughts  of  the 
English  Church,  so  long  as  the  books  of  her  scholars 
occupy  so  large  a  place  in  my  library.  While  I  hold  a 
modern  hymn-book  in  my  hand,  I  shall  remain  a  good 
Methodist,  and  so  long  as  they  continue  to  save  the  souls 
of  the  poor,  I  shall  be  a  member  of  the  Salvation  Army. 
It  is  a  great  mistake,  for  it  narrows  and  hurts  our  souls, 
to  fix  our  thoughts  chiefly  on  what  we  deem  the  defects 
of  other  Christian  bodies.  The  result  is  bigoted  Pres- 
byterians and  poor  Christians.  What  our  age  wants  is 
larger-minded  men.  When  they  come  in  great  multi- 
tudes the  unification  of  Christendom  will  not  be  delayed. 
Men  are  great  not  on  account  of  their  denominational  con- 
nections, not  on  account  of  their  ecclesiasticism,  but  on 


HIS  PREACHING— CONTINUED  233 

account  of  service  and  character.  The  late  Cardinal 
Manning,  who  was  mourned  by  millions  of  England's 
poor,  belonged  to  the  Church  Universal.  His  Christian- 
ity was  greater  than  his  cardinal's  hat  and  more  divine 
than  his  princely  office." 

Alive  to  the  consecrating  influence  of  associations,  de- 
claiming against  lawlessness,  devoted  to  the  established 
order  of  society,  such  was  his  faith  in  the  magnitude  and 
ultimate  supremacy  of  truth  that  he  listened  to  the  social 
reformer,  advocated  a  new  creed,  welcomed  the  doctrine 
of  evolution,  encouraged  scientific  study  of  the  Bible,  and 
finally  organized  a  Parliament  of  Religions.  He  rarely 
exalted  devotion  to  the  exclusion  of  service,  or  vice  versa, 
but  exclaims:  "Blessed  is  holy  contemplation,  blessed  is 
prayer;  but  the  prophet,  in  his  vision  of  the  angels  in 
glory,  saw  that  they  not  only  veiled  their  faces  in  awe 
before  the  face  of  God — not  only  did  their  wings  cover 
their  eyes  as  they  worshipped  in  the  presence  of  Jehovah, 
but  they  had  wings  wherewith  they  might  fly  on  the 
errands  of  God."  He  is  given  to  prayer  and  meditation, 
though  intensely  active  and  social  by  nature.  Quick  to 
learn  the  lessons  of  sorrow,  he  writes:  "It  is  the  mistake 
of  the  young,  and  it  is  a  m.istake  of  those  who  grow  more 
and  more  selfish  and  discontented  with  life,  to  think  that 
it  is  best  always  to  live  in  the  sun.  The  sun  is  a  great 
benefactor.  How  much  of  beauty  and  of  life  he  is  all  the 
while  creating ;  but  the  sun  hides  far  more  than  he  reveals ! 
It  is  the  sun  that  shuts  from  our  view  the  greater  part 
of  the  universe  we  live  in.  If  there  were  never  any  night 
shadowing  our  globe  in  gloom,  we  should  be  unable  to 
behold  the  stars,  and  how  small  to  our  instructed  minds 
the  heavens  would  be  without  those  stellar  orbs,  each  one 
of  which  is  a  sun,  the  center  of  its  own  great  universe. 


234  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

So  it  is  that  the  night  of  sorrow  and  trouble  comes  down 
over  us  in  God's  own  ordering,  that  our  hearts  may  be 
filled  with  the  divine  joy  of  knowing  the  larger  worlds 
of  the  spirit,  and  believing  in  immortality." 

And  again:  "Tragedy  appears  to  take  deeper  hold  of 
the  human  mind  than  any  other  form  of  literary  art,  for 
the  reason  that  it  is  in  harmony  with  the  deepest  facts 
of  a  world  that  sees  a  lost  Paradise  at  the  beginning  of 
history  and  a  Day  of  Judgment  at  the  end  of  it.  One 
element  of  the  immense  power  of  the  life  of  Jesus  is  its 
tragic  pathos;  for  with  the  grief  of  unrequited  and  of 
rejected  love,  He  offered  Himself  to  Israel,  His  own 
people,  and  to  Nazareth,  His  own  city." 

Yet  few  men  so  exalted  or  eulogized  joy.  He  writes 
of  Cana:  "It  is  a  large  place  in  the  moral  world,  for 
there  was  struck  the  key-note  of  Christ's  ministry,  and  it 
ranks  almost  with  Bethlehem,  where  the  angels  sang 
'Peace  and  Good-will.'  It  is  joy  which  Christ  came  to 
bring  men ;  joy,  after  earth's  thousand  years  of  discord 
and  dolor;  joy,  in  the  home  and  in  the  heart  and  in  the 
community,  the  happy  and  harmonious  working  of  the 
forces  of  human  life,  which  even  though  discipline  and 
sorrow  and  death  shall  come,  must  ultimately  prevail 
because  joy  is  the  key-note  of  God's  moral  universe.  The 
world  gives  the  best  wine  at  the  start,  and  how  desperate 
people  become  when  they  find  that  the  quality  of  pleasure 
is  lowered  and  its  quantity  lessened.  O,  how  they  strug- 
gle and  agonize  to  refresh  their  aged  lips  with  the  wine  of 
youth !  But  things  grow  worse  and  worse  until  the  end 
is  reached  in  desolateness  and  despair.  It  is  not  so  with 
us.  The  path  grows  brighter,  the  pleasures  grow  sweet- 
er, our  peace  which  began  as  a  tiny  rivulet  flows  at  length 
as  a  river,  the  River  of  God.     The  water  is  turned  into 


HIS  PREACHING— CONTINUED  235 

wine,  earth  is  changed  to  heaven,  Cana  to  the  New- 
Jerusalem."  In  a  sermon  on  Christian  Optimism,  he 
says:  "There  are  two  sides  of  the  curtain  of  life,  and 
God  sees  both.  The  angels  see  both,  and  they  wonder, 
almost,  at  our  tears,  at  least  over  those  things  which 
bring  greatest  joy  to  Heaven,  those  things  that  add  to 
the  spiritual  powers  of  the  universe,  those  things  that 
are  a  divine  summons  to  our  souls  to  come  up  higher; 
those  things  that  are  ladders  of  light  ascending  from 
earth  to  Heaven.  We  may  not  rightly  be  blind  to  the 
Divine  side  of  our  human  lot;  for  we  are  not  those  who 
have  been  left  in  the  twilight  of  Nature.  Something 
better  than  a  stoical  endurance  of  life's  woes  is  beseeming 
men  and  women  who  have  been  instructed  as  we  have 
been." 

Then,  too,  whatever  his  denunciations  of  sin,  we  still 
feel  his  magnanimity.  We  can  say  of  him,  as  he  said 
of  Paul:  "He  was  not  lenient  toward  fundamental 
error  but  flamed  against  it  with  consuming  zeal,  j^et  he 
was  not  cramped  into  believing  that  his  conceptions  of 
truth  and  service  exhausted  all  the  possibilities  of  the 
Spirit."  So  great  is  his  moral  earnestness  that  he  de- 
clares: "We  must  not  expect  too  much  of  the  ministry 
of  the  beautiful ;  there  are  some  things  which  Art  cannot 
do.  Paris  cannot  cure  her  sensualities  with  pictures,  any 
more  than  she  could  kill  the  Commune  with  a  canvas, 
even  though  Delacroix  had  covered  it  with  matchless 
colorings  or  Millet  had  filled  it  with  heavenly-minded 
peasants."  Yet  he  adds,  "Though  art  in  Paris  may  seem 
only  a  pearl  on  the  neck  of  the  demi-monde,  it  is  never- 
theless true  that  it  has  a  gracious  ministry" — and  the  rest 
of  the  sermon  extols  that  ministry.  He  tells  us  that 
"God  delights  in  beautiful  thoughts  and  beautiful  things, 


236  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

otherwise  He  would  not  have  given  us  the  Scriptures  or 
made  the  golden-rod  to  fringe  the  dusty  road  of  life." 
Much  as  he  loves  righteousness,  his  verj^  treatment  of  a 
theme  proclaims  his  instinct  for  the  beautiful.  For  ex- 
ample, with  the  subject,  "A  faith  worth  contending  for," 
he  discourses  not  upon  the  countless  contentions  and 
schisms  of  histor>%  but  on  the  beauty  of  Christianitj-. 
And  part  of  that  nobleness  of  spirit  which  excluded  petty 
dogmatising,  wrangling,  and  personal  dislikes  from  his 
sermons  is  his  devotion  to  whatsoever  things  are  lovely. 

He  is  conservative  and  radical,  a  mystic  and  a  re- 
former, sensitive  alike  to  sorrow  and  to  joy,  moved  equally 
by  nature  and  by  art,  loving  righteousness  and  beauty, 
his  own  land  and  the  world.  Still  if  one  idea  rarely 
blinded  him  to  the  complexity  of  truth,  neither  did  his 
variety  of  interest  destroy  his  singleness  of  purpose.  So 
glowing  was  his  faith  in  Christ,  in  man,  and  in  God,  and 
so  complete  his  nature  that  we  may  truly  apply  to  his  im- 
passioned eloquence  his  description  of  Mr.  Beecher's: 
"One  will  never  forget,  who  knew  it  in  its  golden  and 
wondrous  prime,  that  preaching  which  swept  with  angelic 
strength  and  splendor  over  the  whole  domain  of  human 
experience,  and  touched  every  chord  of  memory  and  hope, 
of  reason  and  imagination,  of  playfulness  and  indignant 
passion,  of  self-sacrifice  and  of  sympathy ;  so  that  it  seemed 
as  if  all  the  powers  of  a  great  organ  had  been  concen- 
trated into  a  living  man,  through  whom  spake  the  living 
God ;  now  uttering  his  voice  In  homelike  familiarity, 
and  then  with  the  trumpet's  most  piercing  and  passionate 
notes;  now  with  the  plaintiveness  of  a  child's  pleading, 
and  anon  with  a  Miltonic  sweep  and  grandeur  of  sound 
like  the  thunderous  music  of  the  ocean's  shore." 


CHAPTER  XIII 

CITIZEN   AND   PATRIOT 

"There  is  no  civic  virtue  more  urgently  demanded  in 
American  life  to-day  than  a  wise  patriotism,  especially 
that  form  of  public  spirit  which  has  been  called  municipal 
patriotism.  We  know  that  among  the  future  possibili- 
ties of  American  life  are  a  heathenism  and  wretchedness, 
concentrated  in  some  American  London,  approaching  the 
awful  brutality  and  misery  depicted  in  "Darkest  Eng- 
land," where  the  cry  of  distress,  breaking  from  pestilen- 
tial rookeries,  is  wrung  from  lips  purple  with  alcohol  and 
crimson  with  fever.  It  is  the  city  which  Biblical  inspira- 
tion makes  the  type  of  an  inhuman,  material  civilization, 
that  Babylon,  which  is  yet  to  be  destroyed,  whose  mer- 
chants shall  mourn  as  they  stand  afar  off  and  see  the 
smoke  of  its  burning,  the  city  whose  merchandise  is  gold 
and  silver  and  precious  stones  and  pearls  and  fine  linen  and 
scarlet  and  all  manner  of  vessels  of  iron  and  brass  and 
marble,  and  cinnamon  and  odors  and  ointments  and 
frankincense  and  wine  and  oil  and  fine  flour  and  wheat 
and  beasts  and  sheep  and  horses  and  chariots  and  slaves 
and  the  souls  of  men.  Is  not  many  a  civilized  metropolis 
rapidly  becoming  a  ruthless  machine  wherein  are  ground 
up  the  souls  of  men?  Chicago  is  past  the  age  of  mere 
material  bigness,  and  is  gathering  to  herself  many  ele- 
ments of  the  higher  civilization.  She  is  no  longer  a  mere 
commercial  capital;  she  is  a  metropolis,  with  all  the  tre- 
piendous  responsibilities  belonging  to  one  of  the  chief 
cities  of  our  globe.     Our  best  people,  our  farthest-sighted 


238  ^OHX  HEXRY  BARROWS 

citizens,  desire  what  Matthew  Arnold  somewhat  inele 
gantly  calls  'the  best  ideas  that  are  going.*  But,  while 
we  know  far  better  than  some  of  our  critics  the  excellent 
features  of  our  citj-  life,  the  public  spirit  of  many  who 
are  gi\'ing  their  time  and  wealth  and  wisdom  to  the  im- 
provement of  the  common  weal;  while  we  are  proud  of 
our  churches  and  schools,  our  parks  and  charities,  and 
while  we  hug  with  complacenq-  Dudley  Warner's  com- 
pliments in  regard  to  our  increasing  interest  in  the  in- 
tellectual life,  and  while  our  sturdy  Americanism  and 
tbe  firmness  which  throttled  anarchy  and  the  magnificent 
energ}-  which  the  fire  could  not  destroy  or  dim,  are 
recognized,  it  must  be  confessed  that  we  cannot  justly 
claim  to  have  reached  any  high  degree  of  municipal  ex- 
cellence; it  must  be  confessed  that  we  are  governed  by 
the  criminal  classes. 

At  the  heart  of  his  Thanksgiving  sermon  of  1890.  from 
which  we  have  just  quoted,  lay  my  father's  deep  love 
and  grave  fear  for  his  cit}-.  The  appeal  that  Chicago 
made  to  him  was  compelling;  its  possibilities  for  good  and 
evil  seemed  incalculable.  He  was  a  patriot,  too,  and  the 
dty  t>"pically  American.  Besides.  Chicago's  boj'ish  con- 
ceit oasered  a  teachableness  that  was  able  to  ciromavent 
tbe  deadliest  forms  of  provindalism.  As  he  looked  upon 
the  cit}'  in  its  ugliness  and  wickedness,  its  powers  and 
fascinations,  stretching  its  huge  form  north,  south,  and 
west,  he  longed  to  change  its  foulness  into  a  beaut}'  as 
pure  and  shining  as  the  depths  of  Lake  Michigan.  He 
was  glad  to  be  connected  with  Chicago  during  such 
formative  years.  On  coming  from  Boston,  he  had  left  a 
larger  dty  for  a  smaller.  Though  well  restored  after  its 
great  fire,  Chicago,  in  1881,  boasted  few  of  its  present 
most  impressive  factories,  elevators,  and  wholesale  estab- 


CITIZEN  AXD  PATRIOT  239 

lishments,  none  of  its  largest  apartment  houses,  offices,  and 
department  stores,  not  even  its  Board  of  Trade  building. 
It  had  no  electric  lights,  electric  cars,  or  elevated  trains. 
Those  were  the  days  when  fairs.  May  festivals,  and  sum- 
mer concerts  were  held  in  the  dark,  rambling  Expositioa 
building  on  the  Lake  Front;  when  Chicago's  half-million 
people  traveled  in  horse-cars  which,  moving  in  opposite 
directions  on  a  single  track,  waited  for  each  other  at 
the  comer  "bulges."  The  city  possessed  no  Thomas 
Orchestra  or  St.  Gaudens's  Lincoln:  no  Fine  Arts  Build- 
ing, "Dial."  "Brush  and  Pencil,"  and  School  of 
Fiction.  My  father  watched  the  growth  of  the  Mc- 
Cormick  Theological  Seminar}-,  from  small  beginnings, 
helped  establish  the  Presb>-terian  Social  L'nion,  preached 
sermons  at  the  dedications  of  the  Normal  Training  School 
and  Presbyterian  Hospital,  In  1 88 1,  Hull  House,  the 
Auditorium,  Armour  and  Lewis  Institutes,  the  Dewey 
School,  the  Newberr\-  and  Crerar  libraries,  the  Field 
Columbian  Museum,  the  present  Art  Institute  and  Uni- 
versitv-.  existed,  if  at  all,  but  in  dreams.  And  as  miles 
of  pavement  were  laid,  as  scores  of  suburbs  sprung  up, 
and  as  the  population  trebled,  my  father  was  one  of  the 
cit\-'s  best  dreamers  and  workers.  His  connections  with 
its  World's  Fair  and  L'niversity  shall  be  treated  later, 
but  of  only  slighter  import  was  his  more  general  ci\-ic 
work. 

"I  am  earnestly  opposed,"  he  sa>-s,  "to  the  minister's 
becoming  an  active  political  partisan.  He  can  accomplish 
more  by  teaching  principles  than  by  advocating  policies. 
B-ut  I  do  not  believe  that  it  is  the  minister's  place,  in  this 
age  which  needs  ethical  truth  in  a  thousand  applications 
to  life,  to  hide  himself  as  a  'gentle  hermit.'  The  Ameri- 
can pulpit  is  called  on  to  treat  of  a  large  nimiber  of  politi- 


240  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

cal  themes,  such  as  Temperance  Legislation;  the  Sunday 
Question  in  its  many  legal  aspects;  the  Indian  Question; 
the  Bible  in  School  Question;  Obedience  to  Law,  and 
the  ways  to  secure  it ;  Divorce ;  Gambling  in  its  various 
forms;  the  Health  of  Cities;  Pauperism;  Illiteracy;  and 
that  problem,  to  solve  which  the  Church  should  call  on  the 
government  to  help,  like  Paul  making  an  'Appeal  to 
Caesar,'  the  great  educational  and  moral  problem  pre- 
sented by  seven  million  freedmen  at  the  South.  These  ask 
only  for  occasional  treatment,  compared  with  the  ordinary 
themes  of  pulpit  teaching,  but  they  are  not  to  be  ignored. 
If  it  is  right  to  preach  against  ordinary  stealing,  then  it 
is  right  to  denounce  the  infamy  of  public  officials  in  mak- 
ing honest  voters  stand  four  and  six  hours  in  a  line  reach- 
ing to  a  ballot-box,  but  a  line  so  long  that  they  are 
robbed  of  the  dearest  right  of  citizenship.  In  applying 
Christian  principles  to  political  afifairs,  the  preachers  will 
find  that  political  and  partisan  politics  sometimes  overlap. 
So  much  the  worse  for  the  party  in  the  greater  wrong. 
There  are  times  when  a  sermon  on  the  Ten  Command- 
ments might  be  objected  to  as  bringing  campaign  issues 
into  the  pulpit!  The  General  Assembly  of  our  church 
trespassed  on  the  verge  of  partisan  politics  in  some  of  its 
deliverances  on  the  prohibition  of  slavery,  and  the  rights 
of  the  Union.  We  are  not  bound  to  refrain  from  speak- 
ing against  wrong  from  the  pulpit  because  the  wrong  may 
be  sheltered  behind  other  good  men's  consciences.  We  all 
know  that  in  what  we  call  conscience  is  hidden  a  vast 
deal  of  prejudice,  interest,  timidity,  and  self-will.  We  all 
know  how  much  of  weak  human  nature  goes  into  con- 
science, so-called,  as  the  pompous  colored  man  said  in 
reply  to  the  question,  what  is  conscience?  'Conscience  is 
that  feeling  in  here  that  says  I  won't;  that  is  conscience." 


CITIZEN  AND  PATRIOT  241 

"There  are  times  when  to  be  true  to  God  the  pulpit 
must  preach  truths  that  have  immediate  political  bearings. 
In  fact,  the  objections  made  to  the  pulpit's  applying  the 
principles  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  to  affairs  of  gov- 
ernment, often  come  from  those  whose  own  political  ideas 
could  not  seriously  be  proclaimed  from  a  Christian  pulpit. 
Immense  mischief  is  wrought  when  men  feel  that  the 
motive  power  in  moral  reforms  is  not  generated  by 
Christianity.  Much  of  the  infidelity  of  New  England 
sprang  from  the  cowardly  action  of  the  Church  toward 
American  slavery.  I  pray  that  in  the  important  read- 
justments of  labor  and  capital  which  are  at  hand,  the 
workingmen  may  not  feel  that  organized  Christianity  is 
their  enemy,  but  may  come  to  know  that  there  is  a 
Christian  socialism,  wiser,  deeper,  more  real  and  helpful 
than  godless  communism.  The  way  to  Christianize  hu- 
man activities,  in  political  and  all  other  spheres,  is  not 
to  keep  out  of  them,  but  boldly  to  enter  them  and  claim 
them  for  God." 

He  found  in  his  Central  Music  Hall  services  a  God- 
given  opportunity  to  apply  the  teachings  of  Christ  to 
men's  civic  life.  His  pulpit,  too,  he  sometimes  used  for 
this  purpose.  Year  after  year  he  was  a  prominent  speaker 
at  mass  meetings  in  behalf  of  Sunday  observance  and  tem- 
perance, and  before  the  Citizens'  and  the  Law  and  Order 
Leagues.  He  laments  the  indifference  of  many  to  the 
public  weal,  the  greed  of  gold  and  love  of  excitement 
evidenced  in  wheat  pits  and  gambling  dens,  the  corrupt 
city  council,  the  spread  of  atheistic  and  anarchistic  views, 
the  public  disregard  for  Sunday,  the  growing  spirit  of  caste 
in  rich  churches,  the  scarcity  of  churches  in  districts  most 
needing  them,  the  prevalence  of  crime,  and  the  power  of 
the  saloon   and   the  house  of  impurity   to  destroy   their 


242  JOHN   HENRY  BARROWS 

victims  and  undermine  the  social  order.  His  fairness 
pleased  the  honest  minded ;  he  appealed  to  men's  highest 
motives;  his  courage,  fire  and  knowledge  of  facts  made 
his  blows  strike  home.  This  preaching  did  not  win  him 
the  favor  of  those  standing  on  lower  moral  ground  than 
his.  Managers  of  theaters  that  held  Sunday  performances 
were  among  his  enemies,  and  one  of  the  mayors  attacked 
him  openly,  saying  among  other  things,  "Dr.  Barrovvs 
wears  the  cloak  of  the  Lord.  I  have  a  shrewd  suspicion 
that  if  Christ  were  here  to-day  he  would  say  to  this  man 
who  preaches  politics  on  Sunday,  'Get  thee  behind  me, 
Satan.'  " 

In  these  addresses  my  father  often  clearly  expounds  his 
belief  that  individuals,  not  systems,  are  the  determining 
forces  in  social  progress.  He  distrusted  the  materialism, 
the  over-reliance  upon  machinery,  the  infringement  of  in- 
dividual liberty,  and  the  consequent  curtailment  of  mental 
and  moral  achievement,  which  he  discerned  in  some  social- 
istic schemes.  He  writes,  "I  greatly  dread  any  approach 
to  the  doctrine  that  society  owes  every  m.an  a  support.  I 
remember  the  words  of  one  of  my  old  teachers  who  said, 
'Beware  of  the  man  who  says  that  "society  owes  him  a 
living,"  The  farmer  has  learned  not  to  leave  his  cellar 
door  open  when  such  theorists  are  about.'  Nationalism 
will  not  succeed  in  doing  what  all  other  external  institu- 
tions have  failed  to  accomplish.  It  is  not  wisdom  but 
folly  to  imagine  that  just  one  social  panacea  is  all  that  is 
needed ;  that  the  nationalizing  of  industrj^  will  keep  men 
from  overreaching  each  other,  and  turn  inherent  selfishness 
into  brotherly  love.  I  long  as  earnestly  as  any  one  to  see 
principles  of  cooperation  and  brotherhood  applied  to  the 
production  and  distribution  of  wealth,  but  it  should  be 
voluntary,  not  compulsory  cooperation.     The  right  handle 


CITIZEN  AND  PATRIOT  243 

for  all  reform  is  the  individual.  Man  could  attain  his 
noblest  development,  as  in  Paul,  under  the  infamous  em- 
pire of  Nero.  Man  can  sink  to  his  lowest  degradation 
amid  all  the  benignities  of  a  Christian  republic.  I  am 
not  opposing  the  efforts  of  good  men  to  adjust  more 
equally  the  relations  of  labor  and  capital.  Christ  de- 
mands that  the  golden  rule  shall  be  the  law  of  all  life. 
I  am  not  decr3qng  the  work  of  any  reform  associations. 
The  spirit  of  Christ  is  back  of  every  one  of  them  that  is 
good.  But  all  these  movements  should  remember  that 
they  are  but  scaffolding  for  the  reconstruction  of  man. 
They  should  make  easier  the  great  work  of  the  Church, 
the  work  of  renewing  men.  Better  conditions  and  ex- 
ternal improvements  are  not  able  to  meet  of  themselves 
the  radical  needs  of  human  nature.  Men  are  aliens  from 
God,  death-stricken  with  sin.  The  blinded  efforts  of 
some  people  to-day  to  cure  this  world,  suggest  the  picture 
of  a  man  whitewashing  a  pest-house,  or  opening  schools 
and  mansions  for  children  bitten  by  mad  dogs." 

While  describing  those  who  refuse  to  help  the  man  who 
has  fallen  among  thieves,  he  does  not  eulogize  the  passing 
reformer  who  muses  thus:  "What  is  the  use  of  helping 
one  wounded  sufferer;  he  is  only  one  of  a  multitude? 
Other  men  will  be  robbed  and  plundered  and  destroyed 
by  these  Bedouin  banditti ;  it  will  not  mend  the  matter 
to  care  for  this  one.  The  thing  to  be  done  is  to  change 
the  whole  system  of  government,  io  inaugurate  a  new 
order  of  things  which  will  make  plundering  impossible; 
to  do  away  with  the  whole  body  of  monopolists,  land- 
sharks,  money-grabbers,  banded  plunderers  of  the  poor, 
trust-pirates,  who  are  desolating  the  modern  world  and 
making  the  path  of  the  poor  a  red  and  bloody  road 
indeed.     And  so  he  neglects  the  call  of  humanity,  the  cry 


244  JOHN   HENRY  BARROWS 


of  personal  need,  because  he  has  a  theory  that  certain 
sweeping  changes  must  be  brought  about,  and  that  relief 
to  individuals  is  only  a  mockery."  Again  he  tells  us  that 
"An  excellent  form  of  government,  unless  it  is  conducted 
by  wise  and  good  men,  will  no  more  prevent  or  abolish 
present  evils  than  a  fine  broadcloth  coat  will  keep  off 
the  Russian  grippe." 

And  so,  since  he  based  his  hope  of  social  progress  far 
more  upon  improved  manhood  than  upon  improved  in- 
stitutions, hfs  chief  endeavor  was  to  train  ideal  citizens, 
men  who  voluntarily  sacrifice  personal  and  party  inter- 
ests for  the  city,  preferring  to  undertake  distasteful  offices 
rather  than  submit  themselves  to  be  ill-governed.  "There 
is  too  little  concern,"  he  says,  "for  things  outside  our- 
selves and  our  households;  we  live  in  a  community  where 
palaces  are  girded  with  weeds  and  surrounded  by  filthy 
lanes.  So  long  as  Chicago  is  governed  by  its  saloons,  so 
long  as  the  care  of  our  streets  is  in  the  hands  of  un- 
scrupulous jobbery,  so  long  as  the  city  fathers  continue 
to  shield  the  open  violators  of  the  law  and  the  municipal 
executive  refuses  to  meet  "his  sworn  obligations,  so  long 
as  public  nuisances  abound  on  every  hand,  darkening  the 
sky  and  polluting  the  air  to  such  an  extent  that  the  man 
in  the  moon  is  supposed  to  hold  his  nostrils  when  he  comes 
too  near  our  city  limits,  so  long  will  it  be  needful  that 
good  citizens  should  unselfishly  labor  for  good  govern- 
ment." "The  trouble  is  that  so  many  men's  pockets  con- 
trol their  politics;  they  weakly  imagine  that  they  cannot 
afEord  to  follow  their  consciences;  they  are  determined 
not  to  ofiEend  their  patrons;  they  prefer  to  sell  their  prin- 
ciples to  get  a  larger  sale  for  their  goods.  As  Dante, 
the  Florentine  patriot,  who  cherished  even  in  exile  the 
lilied  loveliness  of  the  city  of  the  Amo,  looked  upon  her 


CITIZEN  AND  PATRIOT  345 

fierce  factions  as  the  spotted  panther  which  impeded  his 
poetic  way  up  the  mount  of  vision,  so  the  fierce,  unmean- 
ing factions  of  our  city  life  obstruct  the  elevation  of  our 
municipality.  In  city  affairs  I  am  thoroughly  convinced 
that  there  should  be  henceforth  only  two  parties — the 
saloon  party  and  the  anti-saloon  party.  The  anti-saloon 
party  would  be  primarily  the  law  and  order  party,  and, 
in  view  of  our  municipal  needs,  there  is  no  sense  in  any 
other  division  of  the  people.  The  evidences  are  numerous 
that  our  best  newspapers  and  an  increasing  number  of 
the  voters  are  championing  political  independence. 
Partisanship  in  city  affairs  has  become  like  the  relic  which 
Hezekiah  broke  in  pieces,  Nehushtan,  a  thing  of  brass, 
the  brassiest  thing  now  in  circulation,  especially  when 
embodied  in  partisan  clubs  organized  to  plunder  a  giant 
municipality.  The  ideal  citizen  is  not  a  man  who  is 
merely  a  clothed  and  animated  roll  of  bank  stock  and 
railroad  bonds.  There  is  many  a  gilded  youth  in  Chi- 
cago who  is  not  worth  to  the  better  life  of  our  city,  one 
tithe  of  that  wealth  which  many  a  young  woman  furnishes 
in  a  mission  school.  O,  young  millionaire  of  to-day,  liv- 
ing amid  such  splendid  opportunities,  with  God's  riches 
intrusted  to  you,  set  your  face  against  a  selfish  life,  against 
the  ostentatious  vulgarities  which  recent  books  have 
opened  to  our  view  in  the  American  metropolis,  the  social 
contentions  where  chef  vies  with  chef,  and  butler  strives 
with  butler,  and  wine-cellar  contends  with  wine-cellar, 
and  where  Worth  and  Red  fern  are  the  Achilles  and 
Hector  of  the  social  battlefield !  God  save  Chicago  from 
such  vulgar  Iliads!" 

Yet,  for  all  his  apprehensions  about  the  city  of  his  love, 
his  final  words  were  always  hopeful.  "Perhaps  the  time 
shall  come  when  the  signal  weather-flag  from  our  Audi- 


246 JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

torlum  tower,  and  the  gilded  ship  over  the  Board  of 
Trade  shall  be  saluted  by  some  Wordsworth,  or  Hugo, 
or  Emerson  of  the  better  age,  his  heart  thrilled  and 
kindled  by  the  loftiest  civic  pride." 

His  Christianity  also  included  love  of  country.  "A 
religion  without  patriotism,"  he  oncd  remarked,  "is  not 
inspired  of  that  Christ  who  came  first  to  the  lost  sheep 
of  the  house  of  Israel,  who  wept  over  Jerusalem,  and 
whose  patriotic  heart  gave  the  command  that  his  gospel 
should  be  preached  first  in  the  capital  city  of  his  nation. 
The  deepest  philosophy  now  recognizes  that  the  nation  is 
not  a  political  accident,  that  it  is  not  merely  the  work  of 
man,  a  voluntary  association  for  economic  ends,  but  that 
it  has  its  origin  in  God,  and  like  God  has  continuance, 
authoritj^  and  a  moral  being."  His  love  for  America 
was  strengthened  by  his  faith  in  her.  Unhesitatingly  he 
believed  in  democracy,  in  spite  of  its  moral  dangers  and 
the  unbeautiful  living  it  engenders.  The  waters  of  the 
Pierian  spring  should  be  freely  offered.  A  little  learning 
seemed  to  him  less  dangerous  than  none  at  all.  Then, 
too,  he  always  kept  in  mind  the  thousandth  man  who 
would  drink  deep.  He  writes:  "There  has  risen  a  power 
this  side  the  Atlantic  which  more  and  more  will  modify 
the  methods  of  all  other  governments.  It  is  painful  to 
hear  Americans  speak  despondently  of  our  future  and 
slightingly  of  things  American.  I  know  liberty  is  dan- 
gerous ;  like  fire,  and  water,  and  air,  the  necessities  of  life, 
it  can  be  misused.  It  needs  healthful  regulation,  so  as 
to  prevent  the  fever  spasms  of  revolution,  which  come 
when  life  and  freedom  are  brutally  repressed.  But  in 
our  land  the  ebullitions  of  popular  discontent  find  con- 
tinuous and  natural  outlets  in  local,  state,  and  national 
governments.     It  is  Germany  and  Russia  that  sit  trem- 


CITIZEN  AND  PATRIOT  247 

blingly  on  the  steam-boilers  holding  down  too  many  of  the 
valves.  English  laborers  sometimes  complain  that  nobles 
and  bishops  promise  them  plenty  of  land  when  they  get 
to  heaven,  but  are  very  careful  that  they  shall  not  possess 
a  part  of  it  on  earth.  But  Christian  democracy,  which 
I  hope  America  represents,  demands  that  all  who  are 
created  God's  children  should  have  an  equal  chance  with 
all  others  to  a  many-sided  and  healthful  life  and  develop- 
ment here  below.  And  we  ought  to  rejoice  that  so  gen- 
erally manly  character  is  still  higher  than  factitious  dis- 
tinctions of  wealth  and  position." 

Natural  outgrowths  of  his  patriotism  were  his  interest 
in  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  in  politics,  and  in 
education.  The  Abraham  Lincoln  Post  of  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic,  in  1884,  made  him  an  honorary 
member  and  their  permanent  orator,  presented  him  with  a 
framed  resolution  of  thanks,  and  a  gold  badge  m  appre- 
ciation of  his  patriotic  addresses.  This  honor  seems  fitting 
when  we  remember  his  words,  which  have  found  their 
way  into  a  school  reader:  "America  need  not  go  beyond 
her  own  annals  to  read  once  more  the  story  of  Bayard 
and  Sidney,  of  Vane  and  Havelock,  And  one  there  was, 
greater  than  all,  whose  name  will  never  be  inscribed  on 
the  scroll  of  history,  but  whose  fame  is  immortal.  He 
held  a  lowly  place.  In  his  hand  was  a  musket,  not  a 
sword.  In  his  heart  was  the  love  of  country,  the  love  of 
freedom,  the  love  of  home.  He  knew  every  hardship — 
the  long  march  under  the  cruel  sun,  the  picket's  lonely 
watch,  the  meager  fare,  the  dreary  pain  of  the  hospital. 
Sometimes  he  was  seen  gayly  marching  through  Georgia, 
Again  he  was  found  in  the  deadly  swamps  of  the  Chicka- 
hominy.  He  was  patient,  though  generals  blundered. 
He  was  happiest  w^hen  commanders  sent  him  away  from 


348 JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

the  idle  encampment  into  the  field  of  strife.  His  man- 
hood saved  the  Nation,  and  the  Nation  has  not  altogether 
forgotten  him  and  his  children.  You  will  see  him  on  the 
street,  sometimes  armless  and  crippled,  or  in  some  Soldiers' 
Home,  and  as  you  raise  your  hand  to  him  in  military 
salute  the  hot  tears  will  sometimes  start  from  your  eyes. 
He  lives  in  the  midst  of  a  not  ungrateful  people,  but  full 
honor  has  not  yet  been  given  him.  I  bid  citizens  to  hail 
him  with  grateful  hearts — the  hero  of  the  war,  the  pledge 
of  America's  future,  the  common  soldier  of  the  Union 
Army." 

Politics  rarely  crept  into  his  addresses,  except  those 
dealing  with  municipal  evils.  But  in  1884,  at  a  con- 
vention of  the  National  Law  and  Order  League,  he  op- 
posed a  national  prohibition  party.  The  same  summer, 
he  wrote  to  the  Boston  Journal  a  letter  in  support  of  Mr. 
Blaine,  which  was  widely  quoted.  And  later,  he  opened 
the  National  Republican  Convention  with  a  prayer,  of 
which  thousands  of  copies  were  circulated  through  Indiana 
as  a  campaign  document! 

It  was  a  favorite  remark  of  his,  that  "If  the  torch  of 
Liberty  is  to  enlighten  the  world,  it  must  be  fed  from 
the  lamp  of  knowledge."  Early  in  the  eighties,  when 
many  minds  looked  askance  at  the  discoveries  of  science, 
he  declared  the  doctrine  of  Evolution  to  be  "a  relief  and 
a  help  in  solving  many  scriptural  difficulties."  And  later, 
when  some  of  his  hearers  shrank  from  the  discoveries  of 
Biblical  scholars,  he  declared  :  "We  are  not  to  be  afraid 
of  the  truth;  all  truth  is  of  God,  therefore  we  welcome 
it,  or,  if  it  seems  hard  at  first,  we  adjust  ourselves  to  it. 
Therefore  we  should  seek  for  it  as  for  hidden  treasure. 
Bring  to  the  Bible  all  the  light  which  may  be  gained  from 
Hebrew  study,  from  Assyrian  research,  from  the  higher 


CITIZEN  AND  PATRIOT  249 

and  the  lower  criticism.  Discover,  if  you  may,  how  the 
Bible  was  constructed,  and  when,  and  who  were  all  its 
authors;  but  you  will  not  have  touched  with  one  destroy- 
ing finger  its  central  and  celestial  light.  God  is  in  it." 
Education,  therefore,  claimed  his  attention.  In  his  own 
city,  the  children  of  the  Harrison  school  considered  him 
their  friend ;  he  offered  annual  prizes  for  the  best  work 
done  in  English  composition  by  the  pupils  of  the  eighth 
grade,  and  it  was  one  of  his  pleasures  each  June  to  present 
Macaulay's  History  of  England  and  a  set  of  Shakespeare 
to  the  happy  winners.  Lake  Forest  University  early  won 
his  interest.  In  1882,  it  conferred  upon  him  the  degree 
of  Doctor  of  Divinity.  He  spoke  before  its  students  and 
several  times  raised  money  for  it.  Of  Knox  College,  in 
1884,  he  was  made  a  trustee.  During  his  Chicago  minis- 
try he  gave  seventy  addresses  before  more  than  twenty 
different  colleges  and  universities,  diverse  as  Beloit,  Black- 
burn, Chicago,  Cornell,  Hope,  Holland,  Illinois,  Kansas, 
Olivet,  Purdue,  Rockford,  Yale,  Wellesley,  and  Williams. 

The  summer  of  1887,  he  lectured  for  the  first  time  at 
Chautauqua,  "the  people's  college,"  which  stood,  he  be- 
lieved, "for  universal  education  and  the  helping  of  every 
ardent  and  aspiring  seeker  after  knowledge."  Later  he 
became  one  of  the  Board  of  Councilors,  and  he  continued 
year  after  year  to  lecture  to  Chautauqua  assemblies.  He 
once  said:  "The  Chautauqua  movement  will  ultimately 
be  seen  to  rank  with  the  chief  religious,  reformatory,  and 
educational  movements  of  the  past.  It  enobles  domestic 
life,  quickens  and  directs  intellectual  enthusiasm,  promotes 
brotherhood  and  patriotism,  lays  broad  and  sure  founda- 
tion for  the  better  American  civilization,  honors  God's 
word  and  enthrones  Christ." 

In  1888,  he  was  elected  Trustee  of  the  United  Society 


250  JOHN   HENRY  BARROWS 

of  Christian  Endeavor.  During  the  next  thirteen  years 
he  addressed  conventions  at  Chicago,  St.  Louis,  New 
York,  Boston,  Nashville,  Detroit,  and  Portland,  on  such 
subjects  as  "America  for  Christ,"  "The  Religious  Possi- 
bilities of  the  World's  Fair,"  "The  Brotherhood  of  Na- 
tions," "The  Conquest  of  the  World,"  "The  Supreme 
Value  of  Higher  Education,"  and  "Christian  Endeavor 
and  Missions."  These  words  express  his  faith  in  this 
work:  "The  Christian  Endeavor  ^Movement  is  a  dis- 
tinct, divinely  guided  movement,  and  has  given  our 
churches  some  gleams  of  millennial  daybreak,  planting  in 
the  hearts  of  the  young  those  convictions  and  enthusiasms, 
forming  those  habits  and  setting  in  motion  those  activities 
that  are  to  give  the  Church  of  the  next  generation  new 
prayer  meetings.  Christians  better  equipped  with  the 
Bible,  new  missionaries,  hosts  of  new  givers,  and  men 
and  women  who  will  represent  the  new  Christianity, 
which  is  as  old  as  Jesus  the  Christ." 

One  of  the  Trustees  of  the  United  Society  writes:  "I 
feel  like  reaching  out  my  hands  toward  the  millions  I 
represent,  saying,  'Let  us  take  hold  of  one  another's  hands ; 
I  want  to  feel  5'our  presence;  I  would  gladly  utter  your 
name;  I  want  only  to  name  those  things  on  which  we  are 
all  agreed.'  They  would  say  to  me, — I  speak  for  them — 
you  may  refer  to  Dr.  Barrows  as  our  Chrysostom ;  he  was 
the  golden-mouthed ;  he  was  put  forward  on  all  our 
great  occasions.  When  we  have  conventions  numbering 
twenty,  forty,  seventy  thousand  young  persons,  of  course 
there  are  great  summits,  when  some  man  who  can  com- 
mand the  assembly  must  stand  forth  and  voice  the  com- 
mon sentiment.  Almost  uniformly  Dr.  Barrows  was  ap- 
pointed to  that  position.  He  was  our  foremost  trustee." 
It  may  be  that  my  father's  optimistic  spirit  is  due  in 


CITIZEN  AND  PATRIOT  251 

part  to  his  participation  in  so  many  important  activities. 
It  is  certain  that  such  activities  seemed  to  him  but  the 
minor  part  of  his  rightful  work.  "We  need,"  he  writes, 
"a  wise  balance  between  the  two  views  of  the  kingdom,  as 
within  or  without.  It  must  be  within  first;  but  the 
spirit  in  the  soul  is  not  one  of  solitude,  it  is  one  of  fellow- 
ship. All  morality  has  regard  to  relations,  and  we  feel 
the  incongruity  of  such  collocation  of  words  as  a  Christian 
taskmaster,  a  Christian  distiller,  a  heavenly-minded  slave- 
trader,  a  philanthropic  despot.  The  Christian  spirit  is 
profoundly  concerned  in  bringing  about  better  conditions, 
but  it  should  seek  these  things  and  all  things  under  the 
shadow  and  shelter,  under  the  joy  and  glory  of  the  en- 
compassing and  overarching  kingdom  of  God.  It  is  pos- 
sible for  benevolent  men  to-day  to  devote  themselves  so 
exclusively  to  some  one  reform,  to  be  so  completely  ab- 
sorbed in  securing  some  one  amendment  in  human  life, 
some  amelioration  of  the  condition  of  labour,  as  to  forget 
that,  after  all,  the  chief  enfranchisement  which  men  need 
is  spiritual,  and  also  to  forget  that  their  little  reform, 
which  is  to  hurry  forward  the  millennium,  is  only  one 
little  acre  of  those  golden  fields  which  make  up  the  king- 
dom of  heaven." 

It  is  certain,  too,  that  his  hope  for  his  city  and  land 
was  largely  the  outgrowth  of  the  love  for  every  human 
soul  so  constantly  manifested  by  his  life.  "Oh,  what  a 
rebuke,"  he  exclaims,  "are  the  words  'Our  Father'  to  the 
social  paganism  which  strives  to  preserve  its  respectability 
by  avoiding  those  to  whom  Christ  gave  His  whole  life. 
Let  kid-gloved  and  lavender-scented  delicacy  gather  its 
white  skirts  away  from  the  pollution  of  the  ordinary 
crowd ;  let  men  refuse  any  brotherly  recognition  of  hard- 
handed   toil ;  let  women   decline   to  speak   to   those  who 


252 JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

have  sinned  against  society  and  shrink  even  from  associa- 
tion with  their  braver  sisters  who  help  the  fallen  outcast. 
Let  all  such  assemble  themselves  for  God's  worship  in 
some  temple  of  beauty  thinking  themselves  safe  from 
vulgar  intrusion,  and  they  will  find  that  in  the  highest 
and  noblest  exercise  of  the  human  powers,  that  of  prayer, 
they  must  associate  with  those  to  whom  they  have  denied 
the  meanest  fellowship ;  they  must  remain  forever  dumb 
before  God  until  they  can  descend  to  the  level  of  mere 
humanity  and  enter  his  gates  with  the  motley  hosts  of  a 
poor  and  sinful  race.  The  pyramid  that  reaches  heaven 
must  have  humanity  for  its  base.  God  does  not  call  us 
upward  unattended.  As  we  can  approach  God  only  by 
bringing  with  us  all  men,  so  we  can  live  to  God  only  as 
we  live  for  all  men." 


CHAPTER  XIV 

PREPARATIONS   FOR  THE   PARLIAMENT  OF  RELIGIONS 
189I-1893 

In  1889,  my  father  was  appointed  a  member  of  the 
World's  Congress  Committee,  which  developed  the  next 
year  into  the  World's  Congress  Auxiliary  of  the  World's 
Columbian  Exposition,  "an  organization  authorized  and 
supported  by  the  Exposition  corporation  for  the  purpose 
of  bringing  about  a  series  of  world's  conventions  of  the 
leaders  in  the  various  departments  of  human  progress, 
during  the  exposition  season  of  1893."  In  the  fall  of 
1890  this  Auxiliary  made  him  chairman  of  its  Committee 
on  Religious  Congresses,  a  committee  composed  of  men 
of  fifteen  denominations,  and  probably  "the  most  broadly 
representative  that  ever  signed  a  religious  manifesto." 
These  men  soon  began  to  call  the  most  important  of  these 
Religious  Congresses,  the  Parliament  of  Religions,  a  name 
probably  suggested  to  my  father  by  Tennyson's  line: 
"In  the  Parliament  of  man,  the  federation  of  the  world." 

They  commenced  their  work  under  the  impression  that 
nothing  resembling  a  Parliament  of  Religions  had  been 
heretofore  imagined.  They  soon  ascertained  that  the 
Buddhist  Emperor  Asoka,  twenty  centuries  previous  had 
presided  over  such  a  gathering;  that  in  the  i6th  century 
a  similar  Parliament  had  been  conceived  by  the  Moravian 
bishop,  John  Comenius,  and  by  Akbar,  the  greatest  of 
the  Mogul  emperors;  that  the  Free  Religious  Associa- 
tion of  Boston  had  in  the  seventies  originated  the  idea  of 
such  a  convention  and  that  Dr.  W.  F.  Warren  of  the 


254  JOHN  HENRY   BARROWS  

Boston  University  had  preached  a  sermon  on  an  imagi- 
nary conference  in  Tokyo  of  the  religious  leaders  of  the 
Orient.  But  if  their  plan  was  not  wholly  new,  my  father 
and  his  confederates  were  the  first  men  of  the  Christian 
era  to  bring  it  to  fruition. 

In  the  spring  of  1891,  they  sent  to  personages  and  peri- 
odicals in  all  lands  a  letter  containing  this  invitation : 
"Believing  that  God  is,  and  that  He  has  not  left  Himself 
without  witness;  believing  that  the  influence  of  Religion 
tends  to  advance  the  general  welfare,  and  is  the  most 
vital  force  in  the  social  order  of  every  people;  and  con- 
vinced that  of  a  truth  God  is  no  respecter  of  persons,  but 
that  in  every  nation  he  that  feareth  Him  and  worketh 
righteousness  is  accepted  of  Him,  we  affectionately  invite 
the  representatives  of  all  faiths  to  aid  us  in  presenting  to 
the  world,  at  the  Exposition  of  1893,  the  religious  har- 
monies and  unities  of  humanity,  and  also  in  showing  forth 
the  moral  and  spiritual  agencies  which  are  at  the  root  of 
human  progress." 

The  replies  that  poured  in  voiced  sharp  differences  ot 
opinion.  Some  men  prophesied  that  the  proposed  Con- 
gress would  compromise  and  belittle  Christianity;  others, 
that  it  would  be  a  picturesque  spectacle  unique  and  sug- 
gestive enough  to  dazzle  visionaries,  but  of  slight  actual 
significance;  still  others  that  it  might  be  a  signal  mani- 
festation of  the  modern  scientific  spirit  and  an  efficacious 
means  of  disseminating  enlightenment  and  inculcating 
religious  tolerance.  From  the  men  who  held  this  last 
view  an  advisory  council  was  formed,  which  proved  of 
great  aid  in  presenting  the  proposed  Parliament  to  the 
public.  With  the  advice  of  this  council  the  committee 
finally  proposed  the  following  statement  of  the  objects 
of  the  World's  Parliament  of  Religions: 


PARLIAMENT  OF  RELIGIONS  255 

"First,  to  bring  together  in  conference,  for  the  first 
time  in  history,  the  leading  representatives  of  the  great 
Historic  Religions  of  the  world;  secondly,  to  show  to 
men,  in  the  most  impressive  way,  what  and  how  many 
important  truths  the  various  Religions  hold  and  teach 
in  common;  thirdly,  to  promote  and  deepen  the  spirit  of 
human  brotherhood  among  religious  men  of  diverse  faiths, 
through  friendly  conference  and  mutual  good  under- 
standing, while  not  seeking  to  foster  the  temper  of  in- 
diiferentism,  and  not  striving  to  achieve  any  formal  and 
outward  unity;  fourthly,  to  set  forth,  by  those  most  com- 
petent to  speak,  what  are  deemed  the  important  dis- 
tinctive truths  held  and  taught  by  each  Religion,  and  by 
the  various  chief  branches  of  Christendom ;  fifthly,  to 
indicate  the  impregnable  foundations  of  Theism,  and  the 
reasons  for  man's  faith  in  Immortality,  and  thus  to  unite 
and  strengthen  the  forces  which  are  adverse  to  a  material- 
istic philosophy  of  the  universe;  sixthly,  to  secure  from 
leading  scholars,  representing  the  Brahman,  Buddhist, 
Confucian,  Parsee,  Mohammedan,  Jewish,  and  other 
Faiths,  and  from  representatives  of  the  various  Churches 
of  Christendom,  full  and  accurate  statements  of  the  spir- 
itual and  other  effects  of  the  Religions  which  they  hold, 
upon  the  literature,  art,  commerce,  government,  do- 
mestic and  social  life  of  the  peoples  among  whom  these 
Faiths  have  prevailed ;  seventhly,  to  inquire  what  light 
each  Religion  has  afforded,  or  may  afford,  to  the  other 
Religions  of  the  world;  eighthly,  to  set  forth,  for  per- 
manent record  to  be  published  to  the  world,  an  accurate 
and  authoritative  account  of  the  present  condition  and 
outlook  of  Religion  among  the  leading  nations  of  the 
earth;  ninthly,  to  discover,  from  competent  men,  what 
light  Religion  has  to  throw  on  the  great  problems  of  the 


356  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

present  age,  especially  the  important  questions  connected 
with  temperance,  labor,  education,  wealth  and  pov- 
erty; tenthly,  to  bring  the  nations  of  the  earth  into  a 
more  friendly  fellowship,  in  the  hope  of  securing  per- 
manent international  peace." 

However  stoutly  thinkers  wrangled  over  the  value  of 
attaining  some  of  these  objects,  they  agreed,  that  were  his 
plan  to  succeed  the  organizer  of  the  Parliament  of  Re- 
ligions must  be  a  man  of  faith  and  of  executive  genius. 
The  difficulties  that  he  had  to  meet  were  greater  than  is 
generally  known  and  are  but  faintly  shadowed  in  his 
laughing  remark  when  the  Parliament  had  become  history, 
"I  had  to  toil  for  an  unprecedented  achievement  with  the 
General  Assembly  of  my  own  church,  forty  infallible  re- 
ligious editors,  the  Sultan  of  Turkey,  and  the  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury  pulling  hard  on  my  unclerical  coat  tails." 
Such  hostility  of  course  jeopardized  his  plan,  and  could 
be  counteracted  only  by  securing  leading  English  and 
American  Episcopalians  and  Presbyterians  for  his  advisory 
council.  In  this  he  was  eminently  successful.  The  par- 
ticipation of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  was  also  of 
supreme  moment,  since  an  invitation  to  the  Pagan  world 
issued  merely  by  Protestant  Christianity  would  have  com- 
paratively little  weight. 

In  his  travels  the  condition  of  Catholic  countries  had 
impressed  him  unpleasantly.  The  political  power  and 
diplomacy  of  Catholics  about  him  in  Kansas  had  awak- 
ened in  him  distrust  and  recollections  of  the  corruption 
and  bigotry  of  Rome's  mediaeval  secular  power.  And 
though  ten  years  in  Chicago  had  convinced  him  that  the 
lower  elements  of  the  population  can  be  restrained  from 
anarchy  only  by  the  priests,  he  was  uncertain  what  re- 
sponse his  propositions  would  receive.    During  the  months 


PARLIAMENT  OF  RELIGIONS 257 

of  silence  that  succeeded  his  dispatching  a  letter  to  Cardi- 
nal Gibbons,  so  frequently  did  my  father  impress  upon 
his  children  the  importance  of  his  receiving  the  desired 
answer,  that  whenever  he  sat  lost  in  thought,  we  used  to 
exclaim,  "He  must  be  willing  the  Cardinal!"  And  we 
were  not  far  wrong.  The  letter  that  finally  came  ran 
thus:  "Judged  by  the  tenor  of  the  Preliminary  Address 
of  the  General  Committee  on  Religious  Congresses  in 
connection  with  the  Exposition  of  1893,  I  deem  the  move- 
ment you  are  engaged  in  promoting  worthy  of  all  encour- 
agement and  praise.  Assuredly  a  congress  of  eminent 
men  gathered  together  to  declare,  as  your  address  sets 
forth,  what  they  have  to  offer  or  suggest  for  the  world's 
betterment,  what  light  Religion  has  to  throw  on  the  labor 
problems,  the  educational  questions,  and  the  perplexing 
social  conditions  of  our  times  cannot  but  result  in  good 
to  our  common  country.  I  rejoice  accordingly  to  learn 
that  the  project  for  a  Religious  Congress  in  Chicago  in 
1893  has  already  won  the  sympathies  and  enlisted  the 
active  cooperation  of  those  in  the  front  rank  of  human 
thought  and  progress  even  in  other  lands  than  ours.  If 
conducted  with  moderation  and  good  will  such  a  congress 
may  result,  by  the  blessing  of  divine  providence,  in  bene- 
fits more  far  reaching  than  the  most  sanguine  would  dare 
to  hope  for."  The  receiver's  joy  but  deepened  when 
Archbishop  Ireland  wrote,  "I  promise  my  active  coopera- 
tion in  the  work.  The  conception  of  such  a  religious 
assembly  seems  almost  like  an  inspiration."  These  and 
like  responses  from  Roman  Catholic  dignitaries  confirmed 
in  my  father  the  belief  that  the  Catholic  Church  in  Amer- 
ica to-day  differs  from  that  of  the  past  and  of  the  Con- 
tinent, in  that  it  is  being  led  by  American  citizens  with 
American  ideas. 


258  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 


But  hostile  criticism  and  the  uncertainties  it  engen- 
dered were  not  his  sole  trials,  nor  the  friendliness  of  many- 
leaders  his  only  cause  of  thanksgiving.  The  seers  of  the 
Orient  are  poor — and  even  if  he  succeeded  in  communi- 
cating with  those  most  trul)'  representative,  and  won  them 
to  his  point  of  view,  how  could  they  find  means  of 
traveling  thirteen  thousand  miles?  By  the  time  this 
question  faced  him  Chicago  business  men  had  come  to 
place  confidence  in  his  plan;  and  they  answered  his  plea 
for  aid,  with  thousands  of  dollars.  He  perceived,  too, 
that  some  steps  must  be  taken  early,  to  preserve  the 
records  of  the  gathering  and  to  bring  it  more  prominently 
to  public  attention.  Therefore,  in  the  spring  of  1893, 
the  Parliament  Publishing  Company  was  formed,  and  the 
widely  distributed  prospectus  of  the  History  of  the  Par- 
liament of  Religions  gained  him  the  support  of  many 
thousands,  heretofore  indifferent. 

The  results  of  these  preparations  are  made  evident  in 
his  report  to  the  Auxiliary  in  March,  1893.  He  writes 
that  "Nearly  fifteen  hundred  men  eminent  in  the  realm  of 
religion  have  accepted  places  on  the  Advisory  Council ; 
that  the  plan  of  holding  a  Parliament  of  Religions  at  which 
the  representatives  of  the  great  historic  faiths  shall  sit  to- 
gether in  frank  and  friendly  conference  over  the  great 
things  of  our  common  spiritual  and  moral  life,  is  no 
longer  a  dream.  It  is  now  confidently  expected  that  rep- 
resentatives of  the  leading  historic  faiths  will  be  present 
in  the  Parliament.  A  Confucian  scholar  has  been  com- 
missioned by  the  Chinese  government  to  attend.  Bud- 
dhist scholars,  representing  both  the  Northern  and  South- 
ern Church,  among  them  Reverend  Zitsuzen  Ashitsu,  edi- 
tor of  a  Buddhist  magazine  in  Tokyo;  a  high  priest  of 
Shintoism,  Moslem  scholars  from  India,  Parsis  from  Bom- 


PARLIAMENT  OF  RELIGIOXS 259 

bay,  representatives  of  various  types  of  Hinduism,  eminent 
Christian  missionaries,  leading  scholars  from  Europe  and 
America,  and  probably  representatives  of  the  Russian, 
Armenian,  and  Bulgarian  churches,  will  all  have  part  in 
this  great  meeting.  Jewish  Rabbis  of  Europe  and 
America  are  in  earnest  sympathy  with  this  movement. 
The  interest  in  the  Exposition  and  in  this  approaching 
Congress  will  draw  to  Chicago  numerous  representatives 
of  the  historic  religions.  Leading  Christian  missionaries 
and  native  Christians  of  many  lands  will  be  present, 
including  some  of  the  foremost  men  of  India.  Prominent 
scholars  in  America,  England,  and  Germany  have  already 
accepted  invitations  to  address  the  Parliament. 

"The  Catholic  Archbishops  of  America  at  their  meet- 
ing in  New  York,  In  November,  1892,  took  action  approv- 
ing the  participation  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  the  Par- 
liament of  Religions,  and  appointed  the  Rt.  Rev.  John 
J.  Keane,  Rector  of  the  Catholic  University  of  America, 
Washington,  D.  C,  to  arrange  with  the  General  Com- 
mittee for  the  proper  and  adequate  presentation  of  the 
Catholic  doctrine  on  the  questions  coming  before  the 
Parliament. 

"In  communicating  the  action  of  the  Board  of  Arch- 
bishops, Bishop  Keane  writes:  'I  ask  leave  to  add  the 
expression  of  my  own  profound  conviction  that  the  project 
is  an  admirable  one,  and  that  it  ought  to  receive  the 
encouragement  of  all  who  really  love  truth  and  charity, 
and  who  wish  to  further  their  reign  among  mankind.  It 
is  only  by  a  friendly  and  brotherly  comparison  of  con- 
victions that  reasonable  men  can  ever  come  to  an  agree- 
ment about  the  all-important  truths  which  are  the  founda- 
tion of  Religion,  and  that  an  end  can  be  put  to  the 
religious  divisions  and  antagonisms  which  are  a  grief  to 


26o  JOHN   HENRY   BARROWS 

our  Father  in  Heaven.  Such  an  assemblage  of  intelli- 
gent and  conscientious  men,  presenting  their  religious 
convictions  without  minimizing,  without  acrimony,  with- 
out controversy,  with  love  of  truth  and  of  humanity,  will 
be  an  honorable  event  in  the  history  of  Religion,  and 
cannot  fail  to  accomplish  much  good.'  " 

This  report  also  contains  a  general  programme  for  the 
seventeen  days'  meetings  to  be  held  the  following  Sep- 
tember. 

The  amount  of  work  all  this  involved  is  hardly  cal- 
culable and  can  be  appreciated  only  by  those  who  saw 
my  father  rising  at  six  and  working  until  midnight, 
writing  thousands  of  letters,  providing  work  for  several 
secretaries,  and  assuming  large  financial  obligations.  To 
quote  his  own  words:  "The  Chairman  early  formed  a 
resolution,  strictly  adhered  to,  never  to  notice  by  public 
reply  any  criticism  of  the  Parliament,  and  yet  it  became 
inevitably  a  part  of  his  work  to  explain  the  Christian  and 
Scriptural  grounds  on  which  the  defense  of  the  Parlia 
ment  securely  rested.  In  many  public  addresses,  at  the 
International  Christian  Endeavor  Convention  (1892)  in 
New  York,  before  the  International  Missionary  Union 
at  Clifton  Springs,  at  the  Bay  View  Assembly  in  Michi- 
gan and  elsewhere  and  by  frequent  contributions  to  the 
Missionary  Review  of  the  World,  The  Homiletic  Re- 
view, the  Independent,  the  Golden  Rule,  the  Congrega- 
tionalist,  the  Christian  at  Work,  the  Review  of  Reviews 
or  some  other  organ  of  public  opinion,  he  endeavored  to 
show  how  fully  the  Parliament  was  in  accord  with  the 
Christian  spirit  of  brotherhood." 

However  much  the  coming  Congress  might  demand  his 
full  energies  he  had  no  mind  to  shirk  his  regular  duties. 
"My  engagements,"  he  writes  early  in  1892,  "stretch  like 


PARLIAMENT  OF  RELIGIONS  261 

Wordsworth's  daffodils  in  never  ending  line."  Before 
the  Parliament  of  Religions  was  dreamed,  in  obedience  to 
a  last  wish  of  his  father's,  he  had  contracted  with  Funk 
&  Wagnalls  to  write  the  life  of  Beecher  for  the  American 
Reformers  series.  These  quotations  from  my  mother's 
diary  during  the  winter  and  spring  of  1892  mention  some 
of  his  varied  activities: 

"Tonight  J.  introduced  Thomas  Nelson  Page  at  Cen- 
tral Music  Hall." 

"J.  spoke  on  the  Religious  Congresses  for  an  hour  this 
evening  at  the  Church  Club." 

"J.  has  gone  down  to  Pastors'  Alliance  to  speak  before 
five  hundred  'amalgamated  ministers'  about  the  Religious 
Congresses. 

"J.  came  in  while  we  were  at  supper.  He  made  a 
great  hit  yesterday  with  his  Shakespeare  at  the  Presbyte- 
rian Social  Union  in  St.  Louis." 

"J«  got  home  at  one-thirty  this  morning  from  the  Union 
League  Club  dinner,  where  he  spoke,  as  he  was  chaplain." 

"J.  took  his  mother  with  him  to  the  Colored  Church 
and  she  enjoyed  very  much  hearing  him  speak  on  Wendell 
Phillips,  and  meeting  the  colored  people  afterwards." 

"He  is  writing  hard  on  Beecher." 

"He  speaks  tonight  at  a  Chautauqua  Rally."  "Dean 
Hale  came  to  dinner." 

"J.  is  to  speak  at  the  International  Mission  Associa- 
tion at  Clifton  Springs."  "Joseph  Cook  came  to  dinner 
and  urged  J.  to  become  one  of  the  Editors  of  'Our  Day.'  " 
And  May  2,  1892,  the  entry  reads:  "The  mail  today 
has  been  interesting;  a  Figaro  with  J.'s  picture  and 
article  on  'The  Library,'  a  long  and  interesting  letter 
from  Ameer  Ali,  'Our  Day'  with  a  notice  of  J.  as  new 
editor,  a  document  about  the  Russian  Church  from  Dean 


262  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

Hale,  the  'Revue  de  Belgique'  with  an  article  on  the 
Parliament  by  Count  D'Alviella,  a  typewritten  article  on 
the  Parliament  by  Professor  Wilkinson  which  he  wanted 
J.  to  read  and  criticise  before  sending  it  to  the  Independ- 
ent, a  note  from  Professor  Willis  Beecher  asking  for  a 
sketch  of  J.  for  Johnson's  Encyclopedia — besides  the 
usual  letters.  J.  went  to  a  ball  game  after  luncheon, 
Chicago  versus  Boston,  four  to  one." 

The  address  that  he  gave  that  summer  in  Carnegie 
Hall,  New  York,  contains  the  fullest  early  expression  of 
his  hopes  for  the  coming  Parliament. 

"I  have  no  doubt  that  this  phenomenal  meeting  will 
make  apparent  the  fact  that  there  is  a  certain  unity  in 
religion, — that  is,  that  men  not  only  have  common  desires 
and  needs,  but  also  have  perceived  more  or  less  clearly, 
certain  common  truths.  And  as  the  Apostle  Paul,  with 
his  unfailing  tact  and  courtesy,  was  careful  to  find  com- 
mon ground  for  himself  and  his  Greek  auditors  in  Athens, 
before  he  preached  to  them  Jesus  and  the  resurrection,  so 
the  wise  Christian  missionary  is  discovering  that  he  must 
not  ignore  any  fragment  of  truth  which  the  heathen  mind 
cherishes,  for,  thus  ignoring  it,  he  makes  an  impassable 
barrier  against  conviction  in  the  non-Christian  mind.  I 
believe  that  the  Parliament  will  do  much  to  promote  the 
spirit  of  human  brotherhood  among  those  of  diverse  faiths, 
by  diminishing  ill-will,  by  softening  rancor,  and  giving 
men  the  privilege  of  getting  their  impressions  of  others  at 
first  hand.  Though  light  has  no  fellowship  with  dark- 
ness, light  does  have  fellowship  with  twilight.  God  has 
not  left  himself  without  witness,  and  those  who  have  the 
full  light  of  the  cross  should  bear  brotherly  hearts  toward 
all  who  grope  in  a  dimmer  illumination.  While  the 
Apostle  Paul  denounced  an  idol  worship  which  was  devil 


PARLIAMENT  OF  RELIGIONS  263 

worship,  he  fully  recognized  that  heathen  religion  was 
not  of  that  malign  quality.  He  instructed  the  Athenians 
that  he  and  they  adored  the  same  God,  of  whom  all  were 
the  offspring,  they  in  ignorance  of  God's  full  nature,  and 
he  in  the  blessed  knowledge  which  Christ  had  given  him. 

"And  I  believe  that  there  will  be  furnished  a  grand 
field  for  Christian  apologetics,  a  matchless  opportunity  of 
setting  forth  the  distinctive  truths  of  the  Christian  Gos- 
pel. A  Parliament  of  Christendom  is  to  be  interwoven 
with  the  Parliament  of  Religions,  and  able  Christian 
scholars  will  treat  of  such  themes  as  the  Incarnation,  the 
Divine  Person,  the  Atonement  and  Resurrection  of 
Christ,  and  the  relations  of  Christians  to  one  another. 
Thomas  Arnold  has  said:  'Other  religions  show  us  man 
seeking  God.  Christianity  shows  us  God  seeking  man.' 
It  is  on  this  account  that  Christianity  claims  to  be  the 
true  religion,  fitted  to  all  and  demanding  the  submission 
of  all.  Christianity  alone  shows  us  a  Mediator.  The 
Church  of  Christ  has  a  unique  message  which  she  will 
proclaim  to  all  the  world,  giving  the  reasons  why  her 
faith  should  supplant  all  others,  showing,  among  other 
truths,  that  transmigration  is  not  regeneration,  that 
ethical  knowledge  is  not  redemption  from  sin,  and  that 
Nirvana  is  not  heaven. 

"I  believe  that  the  Parliament  of  Religions  will  be 
valuable  to  scholars  and  to  young  missionaries  and  to 
Christian  people  ever>'where  by  exciting  a  deeper  interest 
in  the  non-Christian  world  and  a  deeper  respect  for  it.  I 
know  that  the  worst  things  in  pagan  lands  excite  our 
horror  and  pity,  but  pagandom  should  not  be  judged  solely 
by  its  worst.  We  have  pitied  the  poor  heathen  so  much 
that  most  Christians  despise  him  and  do  little  or  nothing 
for  his  enlightenment.     When  the  doors  of  China  were 


264  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

thrown  open  to  the  missionary  and  also  to  the  worst  ele- 
ments of  European  and  American  life,  some  people 
imagined  that  China,  with  her  ancient  and  marvelous 
institutions,  would  succumb  at  once  to  our  Christian 
civilization.  But  she  did  not,  and,  as  Professor  Fisher, 
of  Yale,  said  to  me  the  other  day,  'I  think  all  the  more 
of  her  for  not  surrendering  immediately.'  There  is 
tenacious  and  splendid  material  there  for  the  future 
Christian  church.  And  on  the  other  hand,  while  it 
would  be  better  for  Christendom  to  know  the  full  truth 
about  pagan  lands,  it  would  be  vastly  better  for  pagan 
lands  to  know  the  full  truth  about  Christendom,  and 
that  cannot  be  gained  by  reading  only  the  'Cry  of  Out- 
cast London,'  Zola's  fictions,  the  descriptions  of  Ameri- 
can society  in  English  magazines,  the  records  of  our 
crimes  and  divorces,  the  statistics  of  the  liquor  traffic, 
some  of  the  newspaper  pictures  of  Chicago,  and  Dr. 
Parkhurst's  brave  sermons  on  municipal  corruption  in 
New  York.  At  the  Parliament  of  Religions  the  nobler 
and  grander  facts  of  our  Christian  civilization  will  be 
presented  to  the  candid  judgment  of  the  world.  And 
yet,  in  the  light  of  the  discussions  which  may  be  evoked, 
so-called  Christian  nations  may,  m  some  things,  stand 
rebuked  before  the  non-Christian.  And  I,  for  one,  shall 
not  be  sorry.  The  time  is  come  when  Christendom 
should  repent  in  dust  and  ashes.  Missionary  progress  is 
frightfully  checked  by  the  sins  of  Christian  people.  I 
need  not  characterize  the  barbarous  Chinese  exclusion 
bill ;  I  need  not  speak  of  the  rum  traffic  on  the  west  coast 
of  Africa,  the  whiskey  and  gunpowder  of  Christian  com- 
merce, or  the  forcing  of  the  opium  trade  into  China,  or 
the  miserable  examples  of  greed,  pride,  and  cruelty  which 
have    disfigured    the    name    of    Christian    in    India    and 


PARLIAMENT  OF  RELIGIONS  265 


Cathay.  With  Christian  life,  as  portrayed  in  Rudyard 
Kipling's  pictures  of  British  character  in  India,  before 
him,  we  do  not  wonder  that  the  student  of  the  Vedas 
is  not  altogether  fascinated  with  Christian  civilization. 
May  it  not  be,  under  the  blessing  of  God,  a  means  of 
pricking  Christendom  to  the  heart,  to  see  itself  rebuked 
in  'The  Parliament  of  man,  the  federation  of  the  world?' 
"And  while  the  Parliament  will  do  something  to  pro- 
mote Christian  unity  and  bridge  the  chasms  of  separation 
between  the  disciples  of  Christ,  it  will  do  much,  I  hope, 
to  bring  the  non-Christian  world  before  the  minds  and 
hearts  of  a  selfish  and  indifferent  Christendom.  Speaking 
as  a  pastor,  living  in  the  capital  of  Western  materialism, 
with  all  the  world  knocking  at  our  doors  and  thronging 
our  streets,  let  me  here  record  the  conviction  that  the 
divine  way  of  building  up  the  kingdom  of  Christ  in 
America  is  to  engage  with  fresh  ardor  in  efforts  to 
Christianize  India  and  Africa,  Turkey  and  China.  The 
heart  that  is  aglow  with  a  wise  Christian  patriotism  must 
plead  earnestly  for  foreign  missions.  One  chief  hindrance 
to  missionary  progress  is  the  misty  unreality  of  the  great 
heathen  world.  We  scarcely  think  of  them  as  our  breth- 
ren. Many  people's  interest  in  them,  judged  by  their 
gifts,  is  hardly  noticeable.  I  believe  they  will  soon  be 
brought  nearer  to  our  thought;  I  believe  that  the  coming 
event  is  to  stir  a  wide-reaching  interest  in  the  study  of 
comparative  religion,  thereby  strengthening  the  faith  of 
disciples  and  quickening  their  benevolent  impulses. 
Biblical  Christianity,  exhibited  by  the  side  of  the  systems 
of  Buddha,  Mohammed,  and  Confucius,  seems  more 
divine  than  ever.  Those  who  appreciate  most  fully  the 
truths  of  natural  religion  are  increasing  their  unselfish 
efforts  to  give  all   the  world   the  supreme  and   priceless 


266  JOHN  HENRY   BARROWS 

blessings  of  the  Christian  Gospel.  Let  no  one  fear  that 
the  solar  orb  of  Christianity  is  to  be  eclipsed  by  the  lan- 
terns and  rush-lights  of  other  faiths." 

The  distinction  between  sacred  and  secular  was  not  a 
favorite  one  of  his,  and  not  only  the  Religious  Congresses 
but  the  Exposition  itself  interested  him.     He  wrote  of  it: 

"Its  approach  causes  a  stir  in  the  studios  of  Paris  and 
Munich,  and  on  the  pasture-grounds  of  far-off  Australia; 
among  the  Esquimaux  of  the  icy  North,  and  the  skilled 
artisans  of  Delhi  and  Damascus.  The  work-shops  of 
Sheffield,  Geneva,  and  Moscow,  and  the  marble  quarries 
of  Italy,  the  ostrich  farms  of  Cape  Colony,  and  the  mines 
of  Brazil,  know  of  its  coming.  The  ivory  hunters  in  the 
forests  of  Africa  and  the  ivory  cutters  in  the  thronged 
cities  of  Japan  and  China,  the  silk-weavers  of  Lyons  and 
the  shawl-makers  of  Cashmere,  the  designers  of  Kensing- 
ton, the  lace-weavers  of  Brussels,  and  the  Indian  tribes  of 
South  America,  the  cannon  founders  of  Germany,  the 
silver-miners  of  Mexico,  the  ship-makers  of  the  Clyde, 
and  the  canoe-builders  of  the  Mackenzie  River,  toil  with 
the  eyes  of  their  minds  daily  turned  toward  the  Colum- 
bian Exposition.  Over  the  ample  site  on  the  shore  of 
Lake  Michigan,  which  has  been  transformed  into  a  scene 
of  more  than  Venetian  loveliness,  fall  the  shadows  from 
the  Alps  and  the  Pyrenees,  from  the  white  crags  of  the 
Himalayas  and  the  snowy  cone  of  the  sacred  mount  of 
Japan. 

"As  I  was  looking  the  other  day  at  the  immense  build- 
ing for  the  mines  and  mining  exhibit  in  Jackson  Park,  I 
was  glad  to  see  in  the  ornamentation  of  the  grand  south- 
ern portico  the  words  that  are  stamped  on  our  national 
coins,  'In  God  we  trust.'  And  to  the  reverent  mind, — to 
him  who  sees  God  and  the  instrumentalities  for  the  en- 


PARLIAMENT  OF  RELIGIONS 267 

largement  of  His  kingdom  in  the  forces  of  material 
civilization,  even  these  displays  of  human  progress  and 
achievement  in  subduing  and  transforming  nature  will 
suggest  inspiring  and  hopeful  thoughts.  It  would  be  easy 
for  the  Biblical  student  to  find  appropriate  scriptural 
words  to  write  on  every  structure  in  the  World's  Fair, 
Below  the  gilded  dome  of  the  administration  building,  I 
would  inscribe  the  words  of  Isaiah:  'The  government 
shall  be  upon  his  shoulders ;'  over  the  machinery  hall  I 
would  write :  'Every  house  is  builded  by  some  man,  but 
he  that  built  all  things  is  God ;'  over  the  transportation 
building  I  would  write:  'Make  straight  a  highway  for  our 
God ;'  over  the  palace  of  fine  arts :  'The  gate  of  the 
temple  which  is  called  beautiful;'  over  the  agricultural 
hall:  'Behold,  a  sower  went  forth  to  sow;'  over  the  elec- 
trical palace:  'His  lightnings  enlighten  the  world;'  over 
the  woman's  pavilion:  'She  stretcheth  out  her  hands  to 
the  needy;'  over  the  horticultural  building:  'I  am  the 
rose  of  Sharon  and  the  lily  of  the  valleys;'  over  the  build- 
ing of  the  United  States  government:  'He  hath  not  dealt 
so  with  any  nation;'  over  the  unique  and  beautiful  fish- 
eries building:  'And  the  fishes  of  the  sea  shall  declare 
unto  thee;'  over  the  mineral  palace:  'In  his  hand  are  the 
deep  places  of  the  earth ;'  over  one  of  the  resplendent  gates 
to  the  exposition  ground  I  would  write  the  prophecy: 
'The  kingdoms  of  this  world  shall  become  the  kingdoms 
of  our  Lord  and  of  his  Christ.'  " 

That  August  he  underwent  a  surgical  operation  which 
for  two  months  kept  him  from  work.  Part  of  this  inter- 
val he  spent  with  his  wife  at  Mackinac  Island,  whence  he 
wrote  to  me: 

"We  have  found  the  place  to  tone  up  our  nerves,  the 
'gem'  of  all  islands,  where  we  are  likely  to  have  a  sum- 


268  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

mer  home.  Yesterday  I  contracted  for  a  lot,  covered 
with  pines,  on  a  bluff  overlooking  'the  sea,'  as  we  call  it, 
where  you  can  watch  the  stately  ships  as  they  go  'to  their 
haven  under  the  hill.'  We  are  two  hundred  feet  above 
the  lake  (Lake  Huron)  and  the  steep  slope  down  to  it  is 
covered  with  the  forest  primeval.  Such  crystal  waters, 
such  spendid  forests,  such  beautiful  drives,  such  exhilarat- 
ing air!  No  heat,  no  mosquitoes,  no  hay- fever,  no 
malaria!  I  can  now  walk  ten  miles,  and  when  you  saw 
me  I  could  hardly  creep  to  the  carriage." 

In  spite  of  all  his  work  that  fall  and  winter  he  found 
time  to  write  me  such  letters  as  the  following,  which  was 
in  reply  to  accounts  of  the  arguments  used  by  certain 
skeptics  of  my  acquaintance: 

"Jan.  28,  1893- 

"It  is  not  the  mark  of  good  breeding, — it  is  a  sign  of 
intellectual  and  social  coarseness  for  those  people  by  as- 
sertion, by  ridicule,  and  by  what  they  call  argument,  to 
dim  the  light  in  you  which  has  guided  your  path  thus  far. 
I  know  and  love  men  who  hold  their  views,  but  if  they 
should  use  such  methods  in  striving  to  quench  my  faith, 
I  should  not  rank  them  so  high  as  I  do  now.  There  are 
'superstitions'  in  the  world  and  God  gives  us  our  minds 
that  we  may  carefully  and  wisely  discriminate  between 
reasonable  and  unreasonable  beliefs.  Among  the  chief 
'superstitions'  are  to  be  reckoned  the  notion  that  the  Bible 
is  only  a  human  production,  that  Jesus  Christ  was  an  im- 
postor or  a  dupe,  although  He,  the  sinless  One,  claimed 
to  have  been  sent  from  God,  and  that  the  life  beyond, 
which  Christ  came  to  make  more  real  to  men,  is  only  a 
dream.  Some  in  our  time  who  have  been  conspicuous  in 
arguing  against  Christian  suoerstitions  have  been  found 
worshipping  'atoms'  instead  of  God.     The  favorite  argu- 


PARLIAMENT  OF  RELIGIONS 269 

ment  that  all  the  greatest  minds,  Darwin,  Spencer,  and 
Mill,  believe  'so  and  so'  becomes  resistible  when  you 
recall  a  remark  of  Stopford  Brooke's  that,  compared  with 
the  mental  power  of  a  great  poet,  the  mental  power  of  a 
great  scientist  seems  small  indeed.  The  great  poets, 
Dante,  Shakespeare,  Milton,  Goethe,  Hugo,  Emerson, 
Lowell,  Tennyson,  Browning  not  only  believed  in  God, 
immortality,  and  in  Jesus  as  someone  better  and  greater 
than  good,  wise  Socrates,  but  most  of  them  adored  Christ 
as  a  Divine  Redeemer.  Of  course,  if  your  acquaintances 
have  mastered  Butler's  'Analogy'  and  Paley's  'Evidences' 
and  Fisher's  'Grounds  of  Theistic  and  Christian  Belief 
and  Christlieb's  'Modern  Doubt  and  Christian  Belief,' 
and  Bushnell's  'Nature  and  the  Supernatural'  and  Schaff's 
'Person  of  Christ'  and  the  works  of  Schleiermacher  and 
Professor  Henry  B.  Smith  and  Dr.  Peabody's  'Lowell 
Lectures'  and  Canon  Liddon's  'Divinity  of  Christ,'  and 
have  seen  on  the  spot  that  the  girls  of  India  who  have 
been  taught  in  Christian  schools  are  no  better — if  they 
have  done  all  this  and  still  cling  to  their  unbelief  you 
need  not  think  that  they  will  be  easily  led  by  you  into 
the  truth! 

"But  I  know  that  you  will  keep  on  loving  them.  I 
believe  that  it  is  right  that  your  faith  should  be  tested, 
but  I  am  not  eager  that  it  should  be  tried.  You  know 
that  I  am  considered  very  liberal  and  tolerant  in  theology, 
but  I  have  no  respect  for  the  blatant  materialism  that  is 
all  the  while  making  mouths  at  the  Gospel  of  Christ. 
'Prove  all  things,  hold  fast  that  which  is  good.'  Doubt 
is  not  necessarily  'devil  born.'  We  all  have  our  doubts 
to  fight.     You  remember  what  Tennyson  says  of  one : 

'Who  fought  his  doubts  and  gathered  strength: 
He  would  not  make  his  judgment  blind: 


270  JOHN  HENRY   BARROWS 

He  faced  the  spectres  of  the  mind 
And  laid  them ;  thus  he  came  at  length 
To  find  a  stronger  faith  his  own.' 

"And  so  will  you.  I  send  you  some  good  books  for 
reference.     You  will  get  much  from  the  Bushnell." 

That  spring  and  summer  my  mother's  diary  contains 
these  entries: 

"March  lo.  The  chief  blessings  to  record  to-day  are  a 
letter  from  Andrew  D.  White  announcing  what  J.  calls 
the  'capture  of  the  Greek  Church'  and  a  box  of  oranges 
from  an  unknown  friend  in  California." 

"April  14.  J.  wrote  the  preface  to  the  Parliament 
book." 

"April  29.  J.  called  on  President  Cleveland,  who  re- 
ceived him  immediately  after  his  luncheon.  He  was  easy 
and  familiar  in  his  manner  and  in  reply  to  J.'s  invitation 
to  address  the  Parliament  on  September  10,  said  that  he 
could  not  decide  definitely  now,  he  might  have  a  con- 
gress of  his  own  about  that  time." 

"June  15,  Mackinac  Island.  A  telegram  came  from 
J.  saying  'Beecher  finished.  Start  for  you  this  afternoon. 
Love.     Glory!'     We  are  happy." 

Several  visits  with  his  family  at  their  new  Mackinac 
cottage.  The  Seven  Pines,  broke  up  that  summer  of  1893. 
He  found  time  to  take  his  children  camping  and  fishing 
at  the  Cheneaux  Islands  and  to  share  with  them  that  part 
of  his  voluminous  mail  which  they  could  appreciate — 
letters  from  men  like  Gladstone,  Tennyson,  Phillips 
Brooks,  Whittier,  Col.  Higginson,  George  W.  Cable, 
George  William  Curtis,  and  others. 

Final  arrangements  for  the  Parliament  and  welcoming 
the  Oriental  speakers  filled  the  last  of  the  summer.     Nor 


PARLIAMENT  OF  RELIGIONS  271 

were  his  trials  over.  Just  a  few  days  before  the  Congress 
opened,  his  secretary  announced,  "The  Buddhists  are  pack- 
ing up  to  leave."  These  Japanese  priests  warned  by 
friends  at  home  of  probable  unjust  treatment  had  come  to 
Chicago  with  misgivings.  These  fears  were  quickened  by 
the  rule  of  the  committee  that  copies  of  all  Parliament 
addresses  should  be  sent  in  for  inspection,  and  when  the 
secretary  unfortunately  mislaid  the  manuscript  about 
whose  reception  their  doubts  were  keenest  they  decided 
on  instant  departure.  The  secretary's  apologies  for  the 
loss,  his  expressions  of  delight  that  the  missing  paper  was 
but  a  copy,  and  his  assurances  that  their  addresses  should 
all  be  given  in  full,  did  not  change  their  plans.  Yet  my 
father,  with  no  new  fact  to  offer  them,  so  won  their  con- 
fidence and  affection  by  a  single  interview,  that  they 
straightway  unpacked  their  boxes. 

Under  the  pressure  of  this  life  he  learned  to  work  with 
great  dispatch.  Yet  he  rarely  hurried.  He  did  not  allow 
trifles  to  exhaust  his  strength  or  weights  to  crush  it.  Be- 
cause of  the  elasticity  of  his  nature  responsibilities  neither 
cowed  nor  cramped  him.  Perpetual  moiling  was  impos- 
sible to  him.  Out  of  work  hours,  taught  by  necessity 
perhaps,  he  divested  himself  of  his  load  as  completely  as 
if  it  were  another's.  His  friends  and  children  found  him 
every  year  a  better  play  fellow.  Few  people  rode  the 
camels  in  the  Streets  of  Cairo,  dined  in  old  Vienna,  or 
glided  in  gondolas  about  the  Court  of  Honor,  with  hearts 
lighter  than  his. 

And  his  expansion  of  mind  and  heart  was  in  keeping 
with  his  faith  that  "Comprehension  and  not  exclusiveness 
:':  the  key  to  the  world's  progress  and  enlightenment  at 
the  present  time.  Men  are  unwilling  to  know  only  half 
the  truth.     Not  only  are  their  thoughts  widened  with  the 


272  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

process  of  the  suns,  but  their  hearts  are  growing  larger. 
They  are  unwilling  to  exclude  from  their  brotherly  sym- 
pathies any  who  are  groping,  however  blindly,  after  God. 
If  the  proposed  Congress  does  not  prove  itself  to  be,  what 
Ameer  Ali  prophesied,  'the  greatest  event  of  the  century' 
it  may  yet  accomplish  a  noble  work  in  calling  a  truce  to 
theological  strife,  in  deepening  the  spirit  of  human  broth- 
erhood, and  in  leading  men  to  discover  whether  the  ele- 
ments of  a  perfect  and  ultimate  religion  have  yet  been 
recognized  and  embodied  in  any  one  of  the  great  historic 
faiths.  It  will  be  a  great  moment  in  human  history, 
when  for  the  first  time  the  representatives  of  the  world- 
religions  stand  side  by  side.  May  the  Holy  Ghost  be 
the  divine  apostle  preaching  Jesus  to  an  assembled  world !" 


CHAPTER  XV 

SUCCESS  AND  SORROW  1 893- 1 894 

The  Parliament  of  Religions  opened  on  September  11, 
1893,  "with  the  great  peace-bell  at  the  Fair  tolling,  as 
many  hoped,  the  death-knell  to  intolerance;  with  the 
Rabbis  of  Israel  praying  at  that  hour  in  many  lands  that 
the  name  of  Jehovah  might  be  reverenced  over  all  the 
earth;  with  representatives  of  ten  religions  gathered  be- 
neath one  roof;  and  with  a  Catholic  Cardinal  repeating 
the  universal  prayer  of  the  world's  Saviour."  It  con- 
tinued in  session  seventeen  days,  with  a  total  attendance  of 
nearly  150,000  and  was  "a  meeting  of  brotherhood,  where 
'the  Brahman  forgot  his  caste,  and  the  Catholic  was  chiefly 
conscious  of  his  catholicity;'  and  where,  in  the  audience, 
'the  variety  of  interests,  faiths,  ranks,  and  races  was  as 
great  as  that  found  on  the  platform.'  "  To  quote  its 
chairman  still  further:  "It  was  not  like  the  Emperor 
Asoka's  conference,  a  meeting  of  Indian  Buddhists  only; 
it  was  not  like  the  Emperor  Akbar's  little  debating  society 
where  rival  priests  of  several  faiths  contended  before  him 
like  mediaeval  knights,  in  no  spirit  of  fellowship,  each 
anxious  for  an  imperial  verdict  in  his  favor.  It  was  full 
of  the  highest  religious  enthusiasm.  At  times  the  scenes 
were  Pentecostal."  The  imperial  government  of  China, 
the  Buddhist  Church  of  Southern  India,  the  Brahmo- 
Somaj,  the  Jains,  the  Kayasth  Society  of  India,  and  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church  of  America,  were  officially  rep- 
resented and  eminent  individuals  from  all  of  the  great 
religious  bodies  of  the  world  made  addresses. 


274  JOHN  HENRY   BARROWS 

The  daily  press  of  Chicago  gave  fifty  columns  a  day  to 
the  proceedings  of  this  Congress  during  its  sessions.  Sev- 
eral large  histories  of  it  have  been  written,  hundreds  of 
pamphlets  and  magazine  articles  have  been  devoted  to  it, 
and  courses  of  lectures  upon  it  have  been  delivered  by  men 
as  distinguished  and  diverse  as  Father  Hj'acinthe  and 
Joseph  Cook,  Professor  Bonet-Maury  before  Paris  audi- 
ences, Max  Miiller  before  Oxford  students,  and  Count 
Goblet  d'Alviella  before  the  school  of  Social  Sciences  an- 
nexed to  the  University  at  Brussels.  We  shall  therefore 
not  pause  with  its  programme  but  shall  cite  its  chairman's 
account  of  its  spirit  and  of  the  world's  thought  concern- 
ing it. 

"Too  much  cannot  be  said  in  commendation  of  the 
spirit  which  prevailed  in  this  great  meeting.  It  was  a 
novel  sight  that  orthodox  Christians  should  greet  with 
cordial  words  the  representatives  of  alien  faiths  which 
they  were  endeavoring  to  bring  into  the  light  of  the 
Christian  Gospel;  but  it  was  felt  to  be  wise  and  advan- 
tageous that  the  religions  of  the  world,  which  are  com- 
peting at  so  many  points  in  all  the  continents,  should  be 
brought  together,  not  for  contention  but  for  loving  con- 
ference, in  one  room.  Those  who  saw  the  Greek  Arch- 
bishop, Dionysios  Latas,  greeting  the  Catholic  Bishop 
Keane,  with  an  apostolic  kiss  on  the  cheek  and  words  of 
brotherly  love ;  those  who  heard  Bishop  Keane  relate  how 
Archbishop  Ireland  and  himself,  finding  that  they  were 
unable  to  enter  the  Hall  of  Columbus  on  account  of  the 
throng,  went  to  the  Hall  of  Washington  and  presided 
over  the  Jewish  Conference;  those  who  witnessed  the 
enthusiasm  with  which  Christians  greeted  a  Buddhist's 
denunciation  of  false  Christianity;  and  the  scores  of  thou- 
sands who  beheld  day  after  day  the  representatives  of  the 


From  a  Photograph  taken  in  Chicago  in  1893. 


SUCCESS  AND  SORROW  275 

great  historic  religions  joining  in  the  Lord's  Prayer,  felt 
profoundl"  that  a  new  era  of  religious  fraternity  had 
dawnec" 

"It  is  unwise  to  pronounce  the  Parliament,  as  some 
have  done,  a  vindication  or  an  illustration  pre-eminently 
of  one  idea,  either  the  Liberal,  the  Catholic,  or  the  Evan- 
gelical. The  Parliament  was  too  large  to  be  estimated 
and  judged  in  this  way.  It  did  emphasize,  as  the  Liberals 
have  so  emphatically  done,  liberty,  fellowship,  and  char- 
acter in  religion;  it  did  emphasize  the  Catholic  idea  of  a 
universal  church  and  the  desirableness  of  greater  unity 
in  religious  organization;  it  did  emphasize  and  illustrate 
the  great  Evangelical  claim  that  the  historic  Christ  is 
divine,  the  sufficient  and  only  Saviour  of  mankind;  but 
from  the  fact  that  it  made  conspicuous  so  many  truths 
and  phases  of  religion,  the  glory  of  it  cannot  be  monop- 
olized by  any  one  division  of  the  religious  world. 

"It  has  presented  to  the  world  the  idea  of  human  broth- 
erhood in  the  domain  of  the  Spirit,  and  summoned  man- 
kind to  a  friendly  conference  over  those  themes  which  di- 
vide the  race.  If  many  years  shall  need  to  roll  away  be- 
fore the  leading  idea  of  the  Parliament  shall  be  actualized, 
let  us  not  forget  that  greatest  things  have  at  first  been 
a  dream,  an  inspiration,  a  hope.  It  is  a  great  thing  to 
fling  an  idea  into  the  air,  to  throw  an  idea  like  a  flash  of 
light  into  the  future.  It  is  an  idea  of  a  great  and  peace- 
ful empire,  \ye  are  told,  that  has  held  China  together 
through  thirty  centuries.  It  is  an  idea  which  Jesus  flung 
upon  the  breezes  of  Palestine  to  become  the  joy  of  the 
ages;  and  the  idea  of  a  universal  brotherhood  beneath  the 
mild  supremacy  of  a  heavenly  King  is  now  in  the  minds  of 
men,  and  will  yet  in  God's  good  time  be  enthroned  over 


2^(i  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

all  the  high  places  of  bigotry  and  alienation,  of  ignorance 
and  oppression. 

"A  great  variety  of  opinions  has  been  expressed  by  lead- 
ing participants  in  the  Parliament  and  by  others  as  to  its 
nature  and  effects.  To  Nagarkar,  it  is  'a  foretaste  of 
universal  brotherhood ;'  to  Dr.  Morgan  Dix,  'a  master- 
piece of  Satan ;'  to  Dr.  Schaff,  'a  new  epoch  in  the  his- 
tory of  Religion,  stimulating  efforts  for  the  reunion  of 
Christendom;'  to  Professor  Richey,  'a  valuable  setting 
forth  of  the  relations  of  Christianity  and  Natural  Reli- 
gion;' to  Kiretchjian,  a  movement  sure  to  result  in  'a  rich 
harvest  of  right  thinking  and  right  doing;'  to  Professor 
Minas  Tcheraz,  supremely  important,  for  having  'laid  the 
basis  of  universal  tolerance;'  to  Lakshmi  Narain,  of  the 
Arya  Somaj,  useful  to  all  who  'take  interest  in  the  study 
of  Religions.' 

"The  world  appears  to  be  determined  to  regard  the 
Parliament  of  Religions  as  vastly  significant.  To  Bishop 
Coxe,  of  Western  New  York,  an  earnest  foe  of  this  con- 
gress, it  is  still  'one  of  the  most  serious  events  of  the  kind 
in  the  history  of  humanity,  since  the  wise  men  from  the 
east  came  to  the  cradle  of  Bethlehem.'  Count  D'Alviella 
regards  it  as  a  fact  of  great  importance  'that  the  pro- 
gramme of  the  Congress  was  accepted  by  confessions  so 
diverse  and  numerous,  and  that  these  were  drawn  to  meet 
on  a  footing  of  equality.'  The  equality  recognized  was 
'parliamentary,'  not  doctrinal.  To  Professor  Emilio 
Comba,  of  Rome,  it  seems  like  reviving  the  spectacle  of 
the  ancient  Pantheon,  where  the  priests  of  many  faiths 
met  with  a  smile,  not  of  cunning,  but  of  courtesy  and  tol- 
erance." 

The  followmg  selections  from  final  addresses  at  the 
Parliament  show  the  impression  that  the  gathering  and 


SUCCESS  AND  SORROW 277 

its  organizer  made  upon  its  speakers.  Dr.  Alfred  W. 
Momerie  of  London  tendered  the  chairman  his  warmest 
congratulations  saying:  "First  of  all  I  do  not  believe  there 
is  another  man  living  who  could  have  carried  this  Con- 
gress through  and  made  it  such  a  gigantic  success.  It 
needed  a  head,  a  heart,  an  energy,  a  common  sense,  and 
a  pluck  such  as  I  have  never  known  to  be  united  before 
in  a  single  individual.  During  my  stay  in  Chicago  it  has 
been  my  singular  good  fortune  to  be  received  as  a  guest 
by  the  kindest  of  hosts  and  the  most  charming  of  hostesses, 
and  among  the  many  pleasures  of  their  brilliant  and  de- 
lightful table,  one  of  the  greatest  has  been  that  I  have  sat 
day  by  day  by  Dr.  Barrows,  and  day  by  day  I  have  learned 
to  admire  and  love  him  more.  In  the  successes  that  lie 
before  him  in  the  future  I  shall  always  take  the  keenest 
interest;  but  he  has  already  achieved  something  that  will 
eclipse  all.  As  Chairman  of  this  first  Parliament  of  Re- 
ligions he  has  won  immortal  glory  which  nothing  in  the 
future  can  diminish,  which  I  fancy  nothing  in  the  future 
can  very  much  augment.  Secondly,  I  should  like  to  offer 
my  congratulations  to  the  American  people.  This  Par- 
liament of  Religions  has  been  held  in  the  new  world.  I 
confess  I  wish  it  had  been  held  in  the  old  world,  in  my 
own  country,  and  that  it  had  had  its  origin  in  my  own 
church.  It  is  the  greatest  event  so  far  in  the  history  of  the 
world,  and  it  has  been  held  on  American  soil.  I  congrat- 
ulate the  people  of  America."  Mr.  P.  C.  Mozoomdar 
of  Calcutta  began  his  remarks  with  the  opinion  that,  "The 
charge  of  materialism,  laid  against  the  age  in  general  and 
against  America  in  particular,  is  refuted  forever.  Could 
these  myriads  have  spent  their  time,  their  energy,  neglected 
their  business,  their  pleasures,  to  be  present  with  us  if 
their  spirit  had  not  risen   above  their  material  needs  or 


278  JOHN   HENRY  BARROWS 

carnal  desires?  The  spirit  dominates  still  over  matter 
and  over  mankind."  He  concluded,  "with  acknowledg- 
ing the  singular  cordiality  and  appreciation  extended  to 
us  Orientals.  Where  everyone  has  done  so  well  we  did 
not  deserve  special  honor,  but  undeserved  as  the  honor 
may  be,  it  shows  the  greatness  of  your  leaders,  and  espe- 
cially of  your  Chairman,  Dr.  Barrows.  Dr.  Barrows, 
humanly  speaking,  has  been  the  soul  of  this  noble  move- 
ment. The  profoundest  blessings  of  the  present  and 
future  generations  shall  follow  him."  Prince  Wolkonsky 
said:  "To  be  a  man  is  the  highest  thing  we  can  pretend 
to  be  on  this  earth.  I  do  not  know  whether  many  have 
learned  in  the  sessions  of  this  Parliament  what  respect 
of  God  is,  but  I  know  that  no  one  will  leave  the  Con- 
gress without  having  learned  what  respect  of  man  is.  And 
should  the  Parliament  of  Religions  of  1893  have  no  other 
result  but  this,  it  is  enough  to  make  the  names  of  Dr. 
Barrows  and  those  who  have  helped  him  imperishable  in 
the  historj^  of  humanity."  And  Mr.  H.  Dharmapala, 
"in  behalf  of  four  hundred  and  seventy-five  millions  of  the 
followers  of  Buddha  Gautama,  offered  his  affectionate  re- 
gards" to  "John  Henry  Barrows,  a  man  of  noble  tolerance, 
of  sweet  disposition  w^hose  equal  I  could  hardly  find." 

In  his  own  last  words  to  the  Parliament  its  chairman 
said,  "Men  of  Asia  and  Europe,  we  have  been  made  glad 
by  your  coming,  and  have  been  made  wiser.  I  am  happy 
that  you  have  enjoyed  our  hospitalities.  While  floating 
one  evening  over  the  illum.inated  waters  of  the  White 
City,  Mr.  Dharmapala  said,  with  that  smile  which  has 
won  our  hearts,  'AH  the  joys  of  heaven  are  in  Chicago;' 
and  Dr.  Momerie,  with  a  characteristic  mingling  of  en- 
thusiasm and  skepticism,  replied,  'I  wish  I  were  sure  that 
all  the  joys  of  Chicago  are  to  be  in  Heaven.'     But  surely 


SUCCESS  AND  SORROW «79 

there  will  be  a  multitude  there,  whom  no  man  can  num- 
ber, out  of  every  kindred  and  people  and  tongue,  and  in 
that  perpetual  parliament  on  high  the  people  of  God  will 
be  satisfied. 

"We  have  learned  that  truth  is  large  and  that  there 
are  more  ways  than  one  in  God's  providence  by  which 
men  emerge  out  of  darkness  into  the  heavenly  light.  It 
was  not  along  the  line  of  any  one  sect  or  philosophy  that 
Augustine  and  Origen,  John  Henry  Newman  and  Dean 
Stanley,  Jonathan  Edwards  and  Channing,  Henry  Ward 
Beecher  and  Keshub  Chunder  Sen  walked  out  into  the 
light  of  the  eternal.  The  great  high  wall  of  Heaven 
is  pierced  by  twelve  portals,  and  we  shall  doubtless  be 
surprised,  if  we  ever  pass  within  those  gates,  to  find  many 
there  whom  we  did  not  expect  to  see.  We  certainly 
ought  to  cherish  stronger  hopes  for  those  who  are  pure 
in  deeds,  even  though  living  in  the  twilight  of  faith,  than 
for  selfish  souls  who  rest  down  on  a  lifeless  Christianity. 

"I  am  glad  that  you  will  go  back  to  India,  to  Japan, 
to  China,  and  the  Turkish  empire  and  tell  the  men  of 
other  faiths  that  Christian  America  is  hospitable  to  all 
truth  and  loving  to  all  men.  Yes,  tell  the  men  of  the 
Orient  that  we  have  no  sympathy  with  the  abominations 
which  falsely-named  Christians  have  practiced. 

"I  thank  God  for  the  friendships  which  in  this  Parlia- 
ment we  have  knit  with  men  and  women  beyond  the  sea, 
and  I  thank  you  for  your  sympathy  and  over  generous 
appreciation,  and  for  the  constant  help  which  you  have 
furnished  in  the  midst  of  my  multiplied  duties.  Chris- 
tian America  sends  her  greetings  through  you  to  all  man- 
kind. We  cherish  a  broadened  sympathy,  a  higher  re- 
spect, a  truer  tenderness  to  the  children  of  our  common 
Father  in  all  lands,  and,  as  the  story  of  this  Parliament 


28o  JOHN  HENRY  B ARROWS 

is  read  in  the  cloisters  of  Japan,  by  the  rivers  of  South- 
ern Asia,  amid  the  universities  of  Europe,  and  in  the 
isles  of  all  the  seas,  it  is  my  prayer  that  non-Christian 
readers  may  in  some  measure  discover  what  has  been  the 
source  and  strength  of  that  faith  in  divine  fatherhood  and 
human  brotherhood  which,  embodied  in  an  Asiatic  Peas- 
ant who  was  the  Son  of  God  and  made  divinely  potent 
through  Him,  is  clasping  the  globe  with  bands  of  heavenly 
light. 

"Most  that  is  in  my  heart  of  love  and  gratitude  and 
happiness  must  go  unsaid.  If  any  honor  is  due  for  this 
magnificent  achievement  let  it  be  given  to  the  spirit  of 
Christ,  which  is  the  spirit  of  love,  in  the  hearts  of  those 
of  many  lands  and  faiths  who  have  toiled  for  the  high 
ends  of  this  great  meeting.  May  the  blessing  of  Him 
who  rules  the  storm  and  holds  the  ocean  waves  in  his 
right  hand,  follow  you  with  the  prayers  of  all  God's 
people  to  your  distant  homes.  And  as  Sir  Joshua  Rey- 
nolds closed  his  lectures  on  'The  Art  of  Painting'  with 
the  name  of  Michael  Angelo,  so,  with  a  deeper  reverence, 
I  desire  that  the  last  words  which  I  speak  to  this  Parlia- 
ment shall  be  the  name  of  Him  to  whom  I  owe  life  and 
truth  and  hope  and  all  things,  who  reconciles  all  contra- 
dictions, pacifies  all  antagonisms,  and  who  from  the  throne 
of  His  heavenly  kingdom  directs  the  serene  and  unwearied 
omnipotence  of  redeeming  love — Jesus  Christ,  the  Saviour 
of  the  world." 

The  feelings  with  which  some  of  the  delegates  returned 
home,  he  thus  described  in  the  Forum: 

"The  Orientals  attending  the  Parliament  were  deeply 
impressed  by  the  fraternity  and  Christian  love  which  in- 
vited them,  furnished  them  hospitality,  gave  them  a  free 
platform,  and  welcomed  their  sharpest  criticisms  of  Chris- 


SUCCESS  AND  SORROW 281^ 

tendom.  The  eloquent  Buddhist,  Mr.  Hirai,  on  leaving 
for  Japan,  said  to  me:  'I  go  back  a  Christian,  by  which  I 
mean  that  Christianity  is  a  religion  which  I  shall  be  glad 
to  see  established  in  Japan.  Only  let  the  Christian  mis- 
sionaries not  interfere  with  our  national  usages  and 
patriotic  holidays.  I  expected  that  before  I  finished  my 
address,  criticising  false  Christianity  in  Japan,  I  should 
be  torn  from  the  platform.  But  I  was  received  with 
enthusiasm.' 

"Mr.  Gandhi,  the  critic  of  Christian  missions,  said: 
'American  Christianity  I  like;  it  is  something  better  than 
what  we  have  usually  seen  in  India.'  The  high  priest 
of  Shintoism,  Rt.  Rev.  R.  Shibata,  and  the  Buddhist 
bishop,  Zitzusen  Ashitsu,  write  with  grateful  enthusiasm 
of  their  reception  in  America.  The  international  friend- 
ships knit  by  the  Congress  of  1893  are  a  contribution  to 
international  peace,  while  inter-religious  good-will  is  a 
manifest  help  to  the  study  of  comparative  theology." 

No  records  hold  the  full  inner  history  of  the  Parlia- 
ment but  my  father  once  gave  the  Chicago  Literary  Club 
glimpses  behind  the  scenes. 

"The  Congress  of  the  World's  Faiths  has  filled  my 
study  with  a  great  variety  of  interesting  things  and  in- 
teresting ghosts.  I  look  around  on  thirty  volumes  of 
literature,  which  grew  out  of  that  meeting,  twenty  vol- 
umes of  letters  in  a  dozen  languages,  enough  curios  to 
stock  one  section  of  a  museum,  and  opening  a  closet  door, 
I  see  in  the  glimmering  darkness  four  hundred  volumes 
of  the  Buddhist  Scriptures  kindly  brought  to  me  by  the 
Japanese  delegates. 

"A  great  many  cranks  tried  to  capture  the  Parliament 
without  success.  Here  is  an  immense  petition,  signed  by 
hundreds   in   Utah   and   Colorado,   earnestly  urging  the 


282  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 


Congress  to  pass  resolutions  in  favor  of  free  silver ;  here  a 
letter  signed  by  a  Hindu  pre-millennialist  Christian,  u^ho 
prophesied  that  the  world  would  come  to  an  end  when 
the  Parliament  closed,  because  the  Gospel  would  have 
been  preached  to  all  nations,  after  which,  according  to  the 
Scriptures,  comtth  the  end.  What  measureless  leisure 
the  men  of  the  East  must  have :  I  have  a  letter,  the  longest 
I  ever  saw,  sent  uie  from  India,  on  sheets  of  paper  two 
feet  square,  written  with  the  beauty  and  regularity  of 
copper  plate,  and  giving  elaborately  the  writer's  views  on 
all  the  great  questions  of  faith  and  philosophy,  which 
have  been  discussed  since  the  morning  of  Time.  There, 
lies  a  most  elaborate  biography  and  genealogy  of  an  hered- 
itary high  priest  of  the  Hindus,  covering  many  pages  care- 
fully written  out  and  showing  conclusively  that  compared 
with  his  highbred  and  pure  blooded  stock,  European 
Dukes  and  Marquises  are  upstarts  and  pretenders.  One 
long  letter  in  Greek  contains  a  protest  on  the  part  of  some 
Greek  Christians  against  American  missionaries  carrying 
on  any  Gospel  work  in  the  Orient.  Here,  is  the  autobiog- 
raphy of  a  Siamese  prince,  in  which  he  writes:  'When 
His  Majesty,  the  present  King,  succeeded  to  the  throne, 
I  was  only  nine  years  old.  It  was  through  his  kindness 
and  care  that  I  acquired  education,  wealth,  and  comfort, 
as  can  be  in  Siam.'  At  the  close  of  the  document,  he 
says:  'This  is  my  life,  concisely  described,  which  is  noth- 
ing but  a  series  of  changeable  appearances  or  modifica- 
tions of  one  great  truth,  the  Dharma.'  I  have  a  very 
clever  caricature  of  the  Parliament,  pretending  to  be  a 
translation  of  an  ancient  Baked  Cylinder,  giving  the 
Proclamation  of  Ezra,  etc.,  calling  the  hundred  and 
twenty  provinces  of  Babylon  to  a  Parliament  of  Religions, 
at   which    the    worshippers    of   Jehovah,    Baal,    Moloch, 


SUCCESS  AND  SORROW 283 

Dagon,  etc.,  should  sit  down  together  in  friendly  confer- 
ence. In  this  document  are  letters  of  approval  from 
many,  for  example,  Zerubbabal  the  Architect,  who 
says,  'I  am  rejoiced  to  see  this  movement  towards  union 
and  harmony  among  discordant  religions.  We  can  greatly 
profit  by  each  other's  contribution,  I  am  sure;  I  hope 
some  day  to  lay  the  foundations  of  the  new  Temple,  and 
want  models  of  new  altars  such  as  can  be  had  in  Damas- 
cus and  in  Egypt.'  Among  those  who  approve  of  the 
plan  are  Haggai  the  Prophet,  and  Edowin-ben-Arnol, 
Poet  Laureate  of  Baal. 

"I  see  also  four  volumes  written  twelve  thousand  miles 
away,  from  the  pen  and  heart  of  one  of  the  most  spiritually 
minded  men  of  the  century;  the  author  of  'The  Oriental 
Christ,'  'The  Spirit  of  God,'  and  the  life  of  his  master 
Chunder  Sen.  In  Mr.  Mozoomdar  I  have  found  one  of 
the  deepest  and  richest  souls.  I  am  not  acquainted  with 
any  English  or  American  divine  who  seems  to  me  to  live 
so  much  in  the  world  of  spirit.  His  book  called  'Heart- 
beats' is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  works  of  devotion  in 
literature.  He  has  cultivated  the  golden  acres  of  the 
spiritual  world  beyond  almost  any  other  man  of  his  time. 
I  remember  him  as  he  stood  in  a  friend's  house  in  our 
city  on  the  morning  he  was  to  leave  us.  He  was  offer- 
ing a  prayer  and  down  his  dusky  cheeks  the  tears  were 
rolling,  as  in  simplest  language  he  prayed  the  All  Father 
to  remember  us  in  our  separations  and  to  bless  the  friends 
who  had  been  kind  to  him. 

"It  would  be  easy  to  write  a  book  of  personal  descrip- 
tions, detailing  the  peculiarities  of  the  men  and  women 
who  made  up  the  membership  of  the  Parliament  of  Re- 
ligions. These  friends,  now  scattered  to  the  ends  of 
the  earth,  sometimes  visit  me  in  spirit.     I  take  once  more 


284 JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

the  thin,  dark  hand  of  the  white-robed  Dharmapala,  and 
get  a  new  acquaintance  with  Gautama  Buddha,  as  I  mark 
his  gentleness,  his  unresentfulness,  his  helplessness  in  all 
practical  matters,  his  quiet  trust  in  Karma; — or  as  the 
Japanese  brethren  make  their  bows  and  take  infinite  time 
for  an  exchange  of  courtesies,  I  realize  anew  the  great 
separation  between  the  languid  Orient  and  the  rushing 
Occident.  Opening  my  Greek  Testament,  I  hear  once 
more  the  strong  voice  of  the  Archbishop  of  Zante,  de- 
claiming to  my  household  Paul's  speech  on  Mars'  Hill. 
The  interior  history  of  this  meeting  has  never  been  writ- 
ten. It  would  contain  some  sensational  anecdotes,  and 
would  rival  in  interest  many  a  book  of  fiction. 

"One  of  the  most  interesting  forms  that  ever  enters 
my  study  is  that  of  the  Honorable  Pung  Quang  Yu,  the 
rotund,  big.-headed,  and  ever-smiling  representative  of  the 
Celestial  Empire.  He  was  a  man  of  very  capacious  and 
vigorous  mind,  as  may  be  discovered  from  his  treatise  on 
Confucianism.  One  remembrance  of  the  Chinese  secre- 
tary always  fills  me  with  inextinguishable  laughter.  I 
had  invited  him  to  respond  for  China  to  the  addresses  of 
welcome  on  the  opening  day,  that  day  when  the  represent- 
atives of  so  many  empires,  nationalities,  religions,  spoke 
their  words  of  kindness,  and  when  thousands  of  hearts 
were  filled  with  a  noble  enthusiasm.  Mr.  Pung  accepted 
my  invitation,  but  requested  that  I  give  him  an  outline 
of  what  would  be  appropriate  at  such  a  time.  He  sent 
me  word  through  his  secretary  that  he  was  not  acquainted 
with  our  usages  and  so  he  desired  my  help.  Thereupon  I 
dictated  perhaps  two  hundred  words  to  my  secretary,  giv- 
ing what  seemed  to  me  to  be  appropriate  in  order  to  direct 
the  honorable  Secretary's  mind  into  the  right  channels. 
When  this  imperial  Commissioner  from  China  arose  on 


SUCCESS  AND  SORROW  285 

the  afternoon  of  September  eleventh,  1893,  he  was  greeted 
with  such  manifestations  of  welcome  and  honor  as  came 
to  no  other  speaker  on  the  platform.  Men  and  women 
sprang  to  their  feet  and  there  was  wild  waving  of  hats 
and  handkerchiefs.  Mr.  Fung's  secretary  stood  by  him 
and  began  to  read  the  address,  since  Mr.  Fung's  knowl- 
edge of  English  was  very  limited.  This  secretary,  Mr. 
Kwai,  is  a  graduate  of  Yale  College,  but,  unlike  Chauncey 
M.  Depew  and  most  other  graduates  of  that  institution, 
he  could  not  make  himself  heard.  The  eager  thousands 
called  out  my  name  and  commanded  me  to  read  what 
they  were  so  hungry  to  hear.  As  I  took  the  paper  from 
Mr.  Kwai's  hand,  I  found  to  my  sad  surprise  that  it  wao 
precisely  the  same  sheet  of  paper  which  had  come  from 
the  fingers  of  my  own  typewriter,  without  a  single  modifi- 
cation. As  I  read  my  own  words,  the  people  cheered  and 
Mr.  Fung  bowed  low.  They  kept  on  cheering  as  they 
listened  to  the  noble  Christian  sentiments  which  came 
from  the  heart  of  this  Confucian  representative  of  the 
greatest  of  empires.  When  I  had  finished,  the  applause 
broke  forth  again,  and  Mr.  Fung  bowed  and  bowed  his 
gracious  thanks.  Imagine  my  feelings  as  I  afterwards 
read  in  the  Christian  journals  of  our  land  such  words  as 
these:  'The  noble  sentiments  spoken  by  Mr.  Fung  at  the 
Farliament  of  Religions  mark  an  era  in  the  progress  of 
humanity.  Such  friendly  and  magnanimous  words  indi- 
cate that  China  has  been  touched  by  the  Christian  spirit, 
and  is  fast  coming  out  into  the  brotherhood  of  nations.' 
"It  is  said  that  Samuel  Adams  sometimes  wrote  the 
speeches  of  Governor  John  Hancock,  his  addresses  to  the 
Massachusetts  Assembly,  and  then,  he  would  be  placed 
by  his  fellow  members  at  the  head  of  a  committee  to 
thank  the  Governor   for  his  patriotic,   able,   and   timely 


380  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

utterances.  I  was  saved  from  such  moral  embarrassment. 
I  have  every  reason  to  think  that  Mr.  Fung's  opening  ad- 
dress at  the  Parliament  expressed,  however,  his  real  senti- 
ments. His  closing  address,  seventeen  days  later,  was  his 
own  and  I  must  humbly  say  was  an  improvement  on  his 
first  speech." 

The  Parliament  over,  it  remained  for  my  father  to 
give  it  permanent  literary  form.  Six  crowded  weeks  en- 
sued   On  October  19,  he  wrote  to  me : 

"I  have  been  thinking  of  you  as  I  have  lain  on  my 
bed  this  morning,  wondering  about  many  things  in  these 
strange  lives  of  ours — but  reaching  the  conclusion  that  to 
love  God  and  our  fellowmen  is  about  all  we  know  of 
wisdom.  Your  last  letter  made  me  realize  that  j'ou  are 
an  example  of  the  power  of  heredity.  At  your  age  I  had 
the  same  exaltations  and  depressions  and  they  continued 
—more  or  less — till  I  was  married  and  had  a  home  of  my 
own.  These  fluctuations  of  life  are  all  pointing  and 
heading  us  to  our  future  homes — on  earth  or  in  Heaven 
or  both. 

"I  had  a  little  talk  with  Professor  Drummond  the  other 
evening.  He  approved  my  plan  of  going  around  the 
world  to  preach  the  Gospel  in  India,  China,  Japan,  etc. 
He  said  that  the  Buddhists  told  him  in  Japan,  'You 
would  better  send  us  one  ten  thousand  dollar  missionary 
than  ten  one  thousand  dollar  missionaries.' 

"I  cannot  tell  you  what  a  godsend  Dr.  Leonard  W. 
Bacon  is  to  me.  He  takes  Book  and  Church  largely  off 
my  hands.  He  is  one  of  the  most  interesting,  able,  and 
delightful  men  I  know  and  he  is  a  joy  in  the  family. 
Mrs.  Bacon  is  equally  lovely.  I  hope  that  you  will  know 
her." 

And  on  November  1 1 ,  he  wrote : 


SUCCESS  AXD  SORROW.  287 

"Why  don't  I  write?  My  getting  through  with  the 
book  is  a  matter  of  life  and  death.  Professors  Goodspeed 
and  Votaw  of  the  Universit}',  Dr.  Leonard  W.  Bacon, 
Mr.  F.  P.  Noble,  and  Professor  Towne  are  at  work  on 
it  with  me,  and  Walter  will  be  added  to  the  force  next 
week.  The  first  volume  will  soon  be  out.  Don't  tell 
any  body,  but  P.  sails  with  copies  of  it  for  England  next 
week.  There  are  six  rival  publishers  (piratical)  who 
are  getting  out  one-volume  cheap  imitations  of  our  work.'" 

That  very  day  my  brother  Manning,  a  boy  of  rare  in- 
telligence and  afiectionateness.  was  injured  in  a  game 
of  football.  Five  days  later  he  died  of  septic  peritonitis. 
This  was  the  chief  sorrow  of  my  father's  life.  It  came  to 
him  in  the  midst  of  weariness  and  responsibility.  The 
spirit  in  which  he  bore  it  lives  in  the  concluding  pages 
of  the  book  which  he  was  writing. 

"Before  closing  my  work  I  wish  to  contribute  my 
strong  and  grateful  testimony  to  the  truth  and  power  of 
the  Christian  Gospel.  While  I  write  these  words,  the 
body  of  my  eldest  son,  John  Manning  Barrows,  a  noble 
boy  of  thirteen,  lies  unburied  in  my  house.  From  behind 
this  earthly  shadow  I  would  that  a  gleam  of  heavenly 
brightness  might  fall  on  these  final  pages.  With  mil- 
lions of  sorrowing  hearts  I  now  know  the  precious  and 
unspeakable  consolations  of  Christ,  and  to  all.  who  in  the 
Old  World  or  the  New,  dwell  in  death-smitten  homes.  I 
would  that  he  might  enter,  who  is  the  Conqueror  of 
death  and  who  fills  the  believing  heart  with  sweet  and 
satisf\-ing  assurances  of  endless  reunion  and  conscious 
blessedness  beyond  the  grave." 

On  December  i,  he  sent  me  this  note: 

"Your  mother  is  reading  to  the  children  and  I  am 
sitting  by  a  blazing  fire  in  my  study,  which  for  the  first 


288  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

time  since  last  May  is  in  order.  Here  it  is  where  you 
used  to  come  and  say  good-night  to  me  in  the  happy  days 
of  last  June.  We  are  very  heavy  hearted  at  times  these 
days — but  are  having  everything  to  be  grateful  for — a 
dear  child  in  heaven — good  children  on  earth — a  host 
of  loving  friends,  all  needed  earthly  blessings.  Still 
nature  asserts  herself  with  our  poor  yearning  hearts. 
Your  mother  got  along  fairly  well  through  Thanksgiving 
Day,  but  I  have  been  quite  depressed  for  several  days 
this  week.     I  am  better  to-day. 

"The  sweet  letters  of  sympathy  have  been  grateful  to 
us.  We  have  a  volume  of  choicest  words  in  the  literature 
of  grief. 

"My  book  is  in  the  printer's  hands.  The  sales  are 
good. 

"I  am  looking  forward  to  your  being  with  us  Christ- 
mas. I  hope  that,  God  willing,  we  shall  find  our  skies 
brighter.  But — compared  with  many — we  live  now 
under  a  noon-day  sun." 

But  Christmas  time  was  saddened  still  further  by  the 
sudden  death  of  his  mother,  to  whom  his  life  had  been 
bound  closely,  and  from  whom  he  had  inherited  practical 
wisdom  and  reverence  for  truth.  Shortly  after,  he  wrote 
to  his  friend,  Mrs.  Haskell:  "You  wonder  why  so  much 
sorrow  has  come  to  me.  I  often  feel  that  I  need  this 
chastening.  The  world  was  getting  too  attractive  and 
God  is  turning  my  heart  to  Heaven." 

Early  in  Januar}'  he  and  my  mother  decided  to  ac- 
company their  friends,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bartlett,  to  Cali- 
fornia. The  letters  to  me  tell  the  story  of  the  ensuing 
months : 

"2957  Indiana  Ave.,  Chicago,  Jan.  7,  1894. 
"We  have  just  returned  from  a  communion  service  at 


SUCCESS  AND  SORROW.  289 

which  ten  were  received  into  the  Church,  four  of  them 
Chinese  'boys,'  one  of  whom  came  from  New  Zealand. 
I  thought,  of  course,  of  the  Sunday  in  September,  when 
Greek,  Japanese,  and  Chinese  were  in  Church  together. 
And  this  reminds  me  to  thank  your  friend  for  her  letter. 
I  am  more  pleased  when  such  as  she  like  my  book  than  I 
am  to  receive  a  whole  bunch  of  newspaper  book  notices 
however  cordial.  Fresh  roses  are  a  better  gift  than 
pressed  flowers.  You  will  be  glad  to  learn  that  more 
than  20,000  sets  have  actually  been  sold,  that  there  are 
1,500  agents  in  the  field. 

"Well,  as  you  have  kindly  wished  we  are  going  to 
California.  Perhaps  you  will  get  some  letters  from  the 
'Pacific  Slope.' 

"Please  note  any  errors  you  find  in  the  book.  We  will 
get  it  more  perfect  after  a  while.  I  fill  up  most  of  the 
blank  pages  in  the  new  edition.  I  have  a  lovely  letter 
from  'Shibata.'  He  is  telling  all  Japan  what  a  good 
time  he  had." 

"The   Hotel   del  Coronado,   Coronado   Beach,   Cal. 

"Jan.  21,  '94. 

"All  loving  greetings  from  the  soft  dashing  surf  of  the 
Pacific  to  our  girl  among  the  New  England  Hills! 
We  had  a  lovely  four  days'  journey  across  the  Continent 
— with  good  traveling  companions.  The  things  of  in- 
terest were  not  very  many,  and  yet  some  of  them  were 
very  grand.  The  Spanish  Peaks  of  ew  Mexico,  cov- 
ered with  snow — Pike's  Peak  'n  the  distance,  the 
hills  of  Western  Arizona,  the  rose  colored  alkali 
plains,  even  the  prairie  wolf  and  prairie  dogs  and  the 
great  herds  of  cattle  would  have  interested  you.  But 
the  journey  across  the  Continent  is  nothing  to  the  won- 


290  JOHN  HEXRY  BARROWS 

ders  and  delights  of  California.  Here  at  Coronado  Beach 
is  our  American  Bay  of  Naples — only  ours  is  much  finer. 
There  is  a  ring  of  snow  covered  mountains  about  us — 
a  mile  of  glorious  beach  in  front  of  us  and  beyond  is  the 
Pacific — with  beautiful  islands — and  infinite  scope  for 
the  imagination.  I  cannot  look  westward  without  think- 
ing of  the  great  populous  Continent  that  lies  on  the  other 
side — the  mother  of  all  civilizations  and  religions — beck- 
oning us  to  bring  to  her  the  light  and  truth  and  love 
which  have  made  us  free  and  great.  Well — there  is.no 
end  to  my  musings  here, 

'WTiere    the    haunted    waves   of   Asia   die 
On  the  shores  of  the  world-wide  sea.' 

"At  Riverside  we  saw  miles  of  orange  orchards,  their 
'golden  moons'  glowing  amid  dark-green  leaves.  At  San 
Juan — near  which  we  caught  our  first  glimpse  of  the 
Pacific — we  saw  the  ruins  of  a  great  Franciscan  monas- 
ter>-. 

"Dudley  Warner  says  that  superlatives  are  in  place 
here.  God,  once  in  a  great  while,  concentrates  His  mar- 
vels of  climate  and  scenerj'  and  productions  and  attrac- 
tions to  eye  and  heart.     The  result  is  Coronado  Beach." 

"Jan.  27,  1894- 
"Your  leter  came  in  the  mail  with  letters  from  Profes- 
sor Carpenter  and  Dr.  John  Smith  of  Edinburgh,  praising 
my  Beecher  verj'  warmly;  with  a  letter  from  Dr.  Momerie 
praising  my  History  and  with  a  letter  from  Charles  Dud- 
ley Warner,  in  reply  to  a  letter  of  mine  about  the  Wan- 
dering Jew  and  the  Parliament  of  Religions  (see  Jan. 
Harper's  Editor's  Study),  but  to  me  your  letter  out- 
weighed them  all.  I  am  glad  that  you  had  so  good  an 
afternoon  with  the  'Man  with  a  Countrj';'  that  you  are 


SUCCESS  AND  SORROW.  291 

taking  so  deep  a  delight  in  nature  (How  you  would  rave 
with  oceanic  ecstasy  here!);  that  you  enjoy  amateur 
African  Minstrelsy;  that  German  is  becoming  a  joy;  that 
you  eloquently  defended  that  glory  of  English  undefiled, 
John  Bunyan ;  that  you  mourn  over  the  vanished  Peri- 
style— which  will  live  only  in  art  and  in  memory;  and 
that  you  have  placed  your  'song-birds  in  a  row.' 

"We  have  had  a  great  week  here.  I  weigh  one  hun- 
dred and  seventy-six  pounds  and  three  quarters  without 
an  overcoat,  my  highest  weight — which  shows  that  I  have 
been  well  fed.  I  am  brown  of  cheek  and  red  of  nose — 
which  tells  a  tale  of  sunshine — not  of  vinous  potation. 
Tuesday  Mr.  B.,  Frank,  and  I  went  twenty-five  miles  out 
into  old  Mexico  and  with  a  fine  hunter  as  guide  shot 
thirty-five  quail  and  a  rabbit.  There  is  a  more  marked 
contrast  between  our  territory  and  the  Mexican  than  be- 
tween the  American  and  Canadian.  We  were  stopped  at 
the  custom  house  and  forced  to  pay  fifty-five  cents  on 
our  cartridges." 

"Lamanda  Park  Station  and  P.  O.,  Feb.  4,  1894. 

"Your  face  is  before  me  on  the  mantel,  on  the  left  the 
strange,  beloved,  clear-eyed  face  of  the  dear  boy  and 
brother  who  has  led  our  minds  and  hearts  out  into  the 
unseen,  but  not  unknown,  world.  Your  mother  has  been 
reading  m.e  this  evening  another  chapter  from  Gordon's 
fine,  strong  book  on  Immortality.  Your  early  life  is  so 
different  from  what  mine  was.  Death  came  very  close  to 
you  at  seventeen ;  to  me  it  came  close  only  when  I  was 
over  forty. 

"We  are  settled  here  at  the  foot  of  these  mountains 
probably  for  two  weeks.  Our  plan  now  is  to  give  my 
head  a  little  longer  rest  and  return  to  Chicago  early  in 


292 JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

March.  We  came  to  Pasadena,  as  you  know,  last  Mon- 
day. I  was  the  only  one  of  the  party  very  deeply  re- 
gretting our  departure  from  Coronado.  The  music  of  the 
Pacific  surf  had  entered  my  soul.  But  now  I  am  fairly 
wedded  to  the  mountains,  these  lovely  California  moun- 
tains, four,  five,  and  six  thousand  feet  high,  with  two 
snow  peaks  reaching  up  to  eleven  and  twelve  thousand 
feet.  This  beautiful  San  Gabriel  valley  reminds  us  of 
both  Williamstown  and  Northampton,  though  the  sweep 
here  is  wider  and  the  peaks  higher.  We  have  had  many 
lovely  drives.  And  on  Friday  we  followed  the  trail  to 
the  top  of  Mt.  Wilson  six  thousand  feet.  It  was  a  great 
experience,  riding  on  burros  and  climbing  into  the  heavens 
by  a  narrow  path  where  one  misstep  of  the  tough  little 
animal  would  have  tumbled  us  down  sometimes  one 
thousand  or  fifteen  hundred  feet.  If  you  happen  to  see 
Kate  Sanborn's  'A  Truthful  Woman  in  Southern  Cali- 
fornia' read  the  bright  chapter  called  'Camping  on  Mt. 
Wilson.'  At  first  our  climbing  was  made  inexpressibly 
funny  by  our  appearance,  the  women  astride  like  the  men, 
and  your  mother  and  Mrs.  Bartlett  striving  for  what  we 
call  the  'Aunt  Julia  prize.'  You  remember  Dr. 
Momerie's  story  about  Aunt  Maria  who  was  a 
fool  and  Aunt  Julia  who  was  a  blamed  fool! 
But  we  all  became  soberly  estatic  before  we  reached 
the  peak,  such  glorious  vistas,  such  great  gorges 
musical  with  mountain  brooks,  such  magnificent  oaks 
and  pines  and  hemlocks.  At  three-thirty  we  reached  Mar- 
tin's Camp  and  five  inches  of  snow.  Didn't  we  enjoy  our 
dinner !  And  in  the  clear  evening  what  a  matchless  vision 
of  beauty  and  splendor  dazzled  us  in  the  valley  below. 
It  was  nothing  but  the  various  tinted  electric  lights,  I 
should  say  more  than  a  thousand  in  number  in  Pasadena, 


SUCCESS  AND  SORROW  293 

and  ten  miles  beyond  in  Los  Angeles,  but  they  looked  as  if 
all  the  great  constellations  had  fallen  into  the  valley  and 
kept  on  twinkling." 

"Sierra   Madre   Villa,    Cal.,   Feb.    11,    1894. 

"We  earnestly  hope  to  receive  a  lot  of  delayed  mail  to- 
morrow and  perhaps  a  letter  from  you  will  be  in  the  pile 
(for  a  pile  it  sometimes  is).  I  reply  now  to  most  of  my 
letters  'in  propria  manu.'  I  do  not  particularly  enjoy 
much  of  this  correspondence — and  when  I  return,  I  hope 
to  impose  it  on  somebody  else. 

"Saturday  Mr.  B.,  Mr.  S.,  and  I  went  to  Los  Angeles. 
I  was  interviewed  by  a  'Times'  reporter  about  the  Par- 
liament and  there  are  two  columns  in  to-day's  paper  re- 
garding our  talk  together.  This  same  Parliament  is  like 
the  shirt  of  Nessus — something  that  sticks  rather  tight 
to  your  poor  father.  The  mail  is  full  of  it.  The  people 
at  the  hotel  talk  it.  Thirty-five  ministers  of  Los  Angeles 
sent  me  a  petition  to  lecture  on  it.  (Declined.)  This 
morning  we  walked  two  miles  to  the  Sierra  Madre  Con- 
gregational Church  and  the  minister  preached  on  it — the 
first  of  a  series  of  sermons,  etc. 

"We  talk  much  of  living  here  some  day.  Phillips 
Brooks  was  at  this  Villa  once  and  in  his  volume  of  letters 
he  says  that  this  region  has  some  of  the  charms  of  Italy, 
Palestine,  and  India." 

"Sierra  Madre  Villa,  Lamanda  Park,  Feb.  18,  1894. 

"On  Thursday  we  went  to  Redlands — in  the  San 
Bernardino  Valley — a  most  beautiful  region.  We  had  a 
four-horse  wagon  and  drove  up  the  famous  Smiley  Hill 
— from  which  we  obtained  the  most  wonderful  view 
we  have  had  in  California — miles  of  orange  groves  and 
beyond,  the  mountain  wall — here  eight  thousand  feet  high 


294  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

with  three  great  snow  peaks  rising  to  eleven,  twelve,  and 
thirteen  thousand  feet.  Mr.  Smiley  came  out  to  meet  us 
and  said  to  me,  'Is  not  this  Dr.  Barrows?'  He  showed 
us  his  beautiful  estate.  The  next  day  we  were  in  San 
Bernardino  when  I  met  on  the  street  a  man  with  a  copy  of 
my  book  in  his  hand.  I  stopped  him  and  found  him  to 
be  one  of  our  agents.  He  had  sold  forty-four  sets  in  this 
far-off  town. 

"Today  we  went  to  church  and  heard  a  sermon  on 
Mohammedanism.  By  the  way,  Mohammed  Webb  has 
written  me  a  letter,  in  which  he  indicates  that  the  Dedi- 
cation of  the  History  of  the  Parliament  to  your  mother  is 
very  offensive  to  him  and  to  all  Orientals." 

"Chicago,  April  3rd,  1894. 

"I  am  sorry  that  I  could  not  be  your  escort  on  your 
first  visit  in  the  Puritan  metropolis.  I  love  Boston  very 
dearly  and  used  to  be  a  good  guide  to  its  many  places  of 
supreme  historical  interest. 

"So  you  have  attended  service  in  the  old  Second  Church 
of  Boston!  Cotton  Mather,  if  he  were  living  today, 
would  probably  have  enjoyed  the  sermon  of  his  successor; 
but  I  think  Cotton  Mather  would  have  deemed  all  the 
Boston  ministers  of  today  tyros  in  learning.  He  could 
speak  Latin,  Greek,  and  Hebrew  when  he  entered  Har- 
vard College,  at  the  age  of  eleven,  and  he  wrote  more 
books  than  any  other  man  who  ever  lived  in  America. 

"It  is  four  weeks  next  Friday  since  we  came  home  and 
it  seems  to  me  that  I  was  never  busier,  except  during  last 
September.  I  am  giving  myself  entirely  to  the  Church 
work.  The  only  invitations  which  I  have  accepted  were 
to  speak  at  a  Catholic  banquet  last  Thursday  and  to  give 
the   baccalaureate   sermon   at  Wellesley   College   on   the 


SUCCESS  AND  SORROW 29S 

seventeenth  of  June.  The  Catholic  banquet  was  given 
to  Hon.  W.  J.  Onahan,  Secretary  of  the  Catholic  Con- 
gresses, who  has  been  made  a  knight  by  the  Pope.  I  sat 
next  to  Archbishop  Ireland.  About  one  hundred  and  fifty 
of  the  leading  Catholics  of  the  city  were  present  and  the 
dinner  and  speaking  were  fine.  When  the  Archbishop 
asked  the  blessing  all  crossed  themselves  and  bowed  their 
heads.  Father  Butler,  the  jolliest  and  most  learned  priest 
in  Chicago,  was  on  my  left.  He  speaks  six  languages 
equally  well  and  sings  divinely.  He  is  very  sorry  the 
Archbishop  of  Chicago  will  not  let  him  go  to  the  opera. 
'When  I  am  abroad,'  he  said,  'I  go  every  night.'  I  had  a 
great  many  congratulations  over  the  Parliament.  Father 
Butler  said:  'You  can  do  anything  you  please  with  us 
Catholics  except  to  make  us  Presbyterians.'  I  responded 
to  the  toast  'The  Columbian  Congresses,'  and  when  I 
finished  I  had  a  very  warm  reception, 

"I  have  had  a  copy  of  my  book  bound  in  white  by  the 
best  binder  in  London.  It  has  silk  on  the  inside  of  the 
cover,  beautiful  white  silk.  There  is  a  band  of  yellow 
on  the  white  leather  and  the  coat  of  arms  is  in  the  centre 
in  gilt.  It  is  the  most  beautiful  piece  of  work  I  ever  saw 
and  cost  twenty  dollars.  I  am  going  to  send  it  today  to 
the  Pope  through  the  kindness  of  Cardinal  Gibbons.  We 
are  expecting  a  new  edition  of  our  book  tomorrow  and 
I  am  going  to  send  a  fine  copy  to  Castelar,  the  great 
Spanish  orator  and  statesman,  who  has  been  writing  some 
splendid  things  about  the  Parliament.  A  pleasant  letter 
came  from  Dharmapala  the  other  day;  he  heard  of  Man- 
ning's death  on  the  Indian  Ocean. 

"I  am  giving  my  whole  strength  to  preaching  and  try- 
ing to  make  up  for  lost  time.  The  book  has  been  a  suc- 
cess and  now  I  am  going  to  do  my  work  in  Presbyterian 


296  /0/^.V   HENRY  BARROWS 

lines.  I  spent  all  day  yesterday  at  the  Spring  meeting  of 
the  Chicago  Presbytery  in  the  Jefferson  Park  Church  and 
made  an  address  on  the  death  of  Dr.  Patterson.  Next 
Saturday  evening  the  Hungarians  here  celebrate  the  im- 
mortal Kossuth.  I  declined  several  urgent  invitations  to 
speak.  If  you  were  here  this  v^'eek  I  would  take  you  to 
hear  'Faust'  and  'Lohengrin ;'  as  you  are  not  here  I  shall 
not  go  at  all.  Did  you  know  that  the  Emperor  of  Japan 
had  called  for  a  sort  of  Japanese  parliament  of  religions 
next  October?  He  is  going  to  have  a  competitive  exam- 
ination of  the  religions  of  the  empire  in  the  sacred  city 
of  Kioto.     But  I  mustn't  run  on  any  longer." 

"Chicago,  May  i6th,  1894. 

"The  parks  are  superb;  but  I  should  like  to  see  the 
New  England  hills  with  you  and  take  a  long  stroll  over 
your  favorite  paths.  We  are  in  the  tread-mill,  as  ever, 
and  are  looking  iorward  to  Mackinac  with  much  eager- 
ness. We'll  try,  won't  we,  to  have  a  restful  time?  We 
are  just  finishing  the  reading  of  the  Bride  of  Lammer- 
moor,  and  think  that  Scott  leads  nearly  all  the  novelists. 

"Did  Mr.  Dharmapala  write  to  you  his  views  about 
the  cause  of  Manning's  death  ?  Here  is  an  extract  from  a 
letter  which  he  wrote  to  Miss  McC. :  'Sad  indeed 
that  Dr.  B.  should  have  been  deprived  of  his  promising 
son.  It  was  the  boy's  Karma  to  leave  the  world  so  soon. 
In  his  previous  incarnations  he  must  have  destroyed  life 
and  according  to  the  Karmic  law  he  had  to  suffer  and 
the  world  joins  in  his  suffering,'  Isn't  it  wonderful  that 
our  friend  and  so  many  others  should  believe  in  a  number 
of  things  for  which  there  is  no  evidence,  and  yet  refuse 
to  believe  in  certain  Christian  truths  and  facts  for  which 
the  evidence  is  overwhelming? 


SUCCESS  AND  SORROW. 297 

"Bring  your  'Sartor'  to  Mackinac  and  read  me  your 
favorite  passages.  With  great  love, 

"Your  gray  haired  Sire." 

During  this  winter  enthusiastic  reviews  of  the  history 
of  the  Parliament  of  Religions  appeared  in  many  languges. 
The  next  year  some  of  these  notices  were  collected  and 
published  in  pamphlet  form  by  Professor  George  S.  Good- 
speed,  of  the  University  of  Chicago. 

Reverend  George  T.  Candlin  wrote  to  my  father  from 
Tien  Tsin,  China: 

"The  history  of  the  Parliament  takes  an  unique  place 
among  the  books  of  the  world,  in  two  respects,  which  are 
of  supreme  importance.  ( i )  There  is  a  point  of  view 
from  which  the  earnest  believer  in  any  religion  view^s  the 
faith  which  is  precious  to  him,  and  which  renders  it  to 
him  at  once  so  credible  and  so  excellent  that  it  commands 
his  unbounded  admiration.  To  sympathetically  under- 
stand his  religion,  we  must,  at  least  temporarily,  see  it 
from  his  point  of  view.  This  book,  alone  of  books,  en- 
ables us  to  see  all  the  great  religions  of  the  world  in  this 
manner.  (2)  For  practical  purposes,  there  is  an  enor- 
mous difference  between  a  religion  as  we  are  able  to  con- 
ceive it  at  some  stage  of  its  development,  through  a  mil- 
lennium of  history,  and  the  religion  as  it  is  held  vitally, 
in  the  present,  by  its  recognized  leaders  and  champions. 
This  work  is  the  only  considerable  collection  of  material 
which  will  enable  us  to  understand  what  all  the  faiths  of 
the  world  are  now,  and  what  is  their  value  as  forces  which 
make  for  human  well-being  and  spiritual  comfort.  Just 
as  the  Parliament  of  Religions  gave  us,  not  the  Chris- 
tianity of  Augustine,  or  Aquinas,  or  Calvin,  but  of  the 
present  hour,  so  it  gave  us,  not  the  Hinduism  of  Gau- 


JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 


tama's  time,  nor  the  Buddhism  of  Asoka's,  nor  the  Con- 
fucianism of  Chu  Hsi's,  nor  the  Taoism  of  Chuang  Tzu, 
but  of  men  who  in  the  present  hour  carry  the  lamp  into 
the  unexplored  future.  It  must  be,  therefore,  the  best 
text-book  of  comparative  religion." 

But  however  great  the  applause  this  book  received,  at- 
tacks were  made  upon  the  Parliament  of  Religions  by 
those  opposed  to  its  sentiments  and  many  prophecies  of  its 
disastrous  effect  upon  Christian  Missions  were  rife.  There 
were  good  reasons  for  some  of  these  apprehensions,  and 
years  later,  when  the  evidence  was  well  in,  my  father 
wrote : 

"It  cannot  be  doubted  that  the  Parliament  has  wrought 
some  evil  results.  It  has  been  confusing  to  some  Christian 
minds,  who  have  found  it  necessary  to  modify  old  ideas. 
It  is  like  the  Epistles  of  St.  Paul  in  which  there  were 
some  things  hard  to  be  understood,  and  which  the  un- 
stable and  the  unlearned  have  perverted.  It  was  like 
every  advance  movement  in  human  thought  liable  to  be 
misunderstood  and  misused,  but  I  think  these  evils  are 
diminishing  and  will  pass  away  in  time  while  the  good 
will  be  permanent.  The  Parliament  also  gave  occasion 
for  some  foolish  and  unfounded  reports  in  heathendom. 
A  few  of  the  returning  delegates,  gravely  informed  the 
Oriental  world  that  America  was  getting  tired  of  Chris- 
tianity and  looked  upon  Buddhism  or  Hinduism  as  better. 
Such  misinterpretations  of  the  courtesy  extended  to  them 
in  America  and  our  generous  tolerance  were  to  be  ex- 
pected. But,  like  other  mistakes,  they  have  been  for 
the  most  part  corrected.  The  gravest  indictment  against 
the  Parliament  is  that  in  India  and  Japan  it  has  stirred 
the  ethnic  religions  to  a  new  life  and  vigor,  but  the  same 
indictment  can  be  made  against  Christian  missions." 


SUCCESS  AND  SORROW 299 

There  was  never  any  doubt  in  my  father's  mind  that 
its  good  far  outweighed  its  evil  results.  He  wrote  to  his 
friend  Dr.  George  Dana  Boardman:  "Don't  you  really 
believe  that  the  influence  of  the  Parliament  has,  on  the 
whole,  been  good  rather  than  evil?  I  am  perfectly  con- 
fident of  it.  It  has  widened  horizons,  stimulated  interest 
in  the  non-Christian  world,  challenged  Christendom  to 
consider  its  errors,  and  missionaries  to  review  some  of 
their  methods;  it  has  made  heathendom  feel  better  to- 
ward us ;  it  has  shown  the  vast  significance  of  religion ; 
it  has  brought  Christians  closer  together.  I  acknowledge 
that  some  light-headed  people  have  misconceived  the  Par- 
liament as  a  step  away  from  Christ,  but  they  are  not  very 
many  or  very  wise.     Christ  was  supremely  honored." 

And  in  the  Forum,  he  wrote:  "No  other  event  ever 
awakened  so  wide  and  sympathetic  an  interest  in  compara- 
tive religion.  The  spectacle  itself  gave  vividness  and  real- 
ity to  the  vague  popular  notions  of  the  ethnic  faiths." 

The  attacks  made  against  the  Parliament  of  Religions 
called  forth  letters  and  articles  favorable  to  it  from  all 
over  the  world ;  some  of  them  from  missionaries  who  de- 
duced their  opinions  from  plenty  of  first-hand  observation. 
Hon.  William  E.  Dodge,  President  of  the  Evangelical 
Alliance  of  the  United  States,  declared:  "There  is  one 
man  who,  by  virtue  of  the  marvelous  ability  with  which 
he  organized  and  conducted  the  great  Parliam.ent  of  Re- 
ligions, is  I  think  fairly  entitled  to  be  called  the  foremost 
evangelist  in  the  world." 


CHAPTER  XVI 

THE     HASKELL    AND     BARROWS     LECTURESHIPS    OF     THE 
UNIVERSITY  OF  CHICAGO 1 894- 1 895 

As  a  direct  outcome  of  the  Parliament  of  Religions, 
Mrs.  Caroline  E.  Haskell,  a  member  of  my  father's  con- 
gregation, gave  to  the  University  of  Chicago,  in  April, 
1894,  $20,000,  for  founding  the  Haskell  Lectureship  on 
Comparative  Religion.  She  believed  that  "The  immense 
interest  awakened  by  the  Parliament  of  Religions  makes 
it  eminently  desirable  that  the  students  in  the  University 
and  people  generally  shall  be  given  more  instruction  in 
this  most  important  of  all  subjects."  And  in  June,  she 
gave  $100,000  for  the  Haskell  Oriental  Museum. 

My  father  sympathized  fully  with  her  idea:  "What 
study  should  broaden  the  bounds  of  intellectual  and  moral 
sympathy  like  this?  Should  it  not  give  to  the  heart  an 
expansion  like  that  which*  astronomy  has  given  to  the 
brain  ?  We,  ourselves,  are  heirs  of  all  that  has  been ; 
we  feel  the  touch  of  hands  that  became  dust  when  Nine- 
veh was  destroyed,  and  hear  the  sound  of  pathetic  voices 
that  were  stilled  before  the  Argive  keels  grated  on  the 
shores  of  Ilium  or  the  Aryan  races  made  their  way  to  the 
plains  of  India.  The  sceptered  spirits  of  the  Past  rule  us 
from  urns  older  than  the  Druidic  arches  of  Stonehenge, 
or  the  rock  hewn  temples  of  Elephanta,  from  urns  as 
ancient  as  the  burial  places  of  the  Egyptian  dead. 

"And  the  study  of  religion  in  its  entirety  should  be  a 
mighty  reinforcement  to  faith.  The  spiritual  facts  and 
problems  in  their  majesty  and  universality   must  awe  the 


HASKELL  AND  BARROWS  LECTURESHIPS    301 


careless  mind  into  reverence  and  rebuke  the  shallow 
skepticism  which  dismisses  the  greatest  fact  of  man's  de- 
velopment as  a  baseless  superstition." 

Two  years  before,  he  had  begun  a  systematic  study  of 
comparative  religion.  It  was  therefore  natural  that  he 
should  be  appointed  to  the  Haskell  I^ectureship  and  in 
May,  1894,  h^  ^^'^s  unanimously  elected  a  member  of  the 
University  faculty,  with  the  rank  of  professor.  This 
position  he  held  until  his  death.  Probably  no  other  honor 
ever  came  to  him  for  which  he  cared  more,  and  of  all  the 
organizations  with  which  he  was  ever  connected  few 
rivalled  in  his  affections  the  University  of  Chicago.  He 
used  to  say,  "I  earnestly  believe  that  our  beloved  uni- 
versity represents  all  that  is  highest  in  our  city's  life  and 
that  it  will  do  more  than  anything  else  to  free  us  from 
reproach  and  to  give  our  name,  already  honored  as  rep- 
resenting material  masteries,  a  purer  and  more  lasting 
lustre." 

On  October  first,  he  lectured  at  the  University  Convo- 
cation on  the  "Greatness  of  Religion."  "By  religion," 
he  said,  "I  mean  a  form  of  belief  which  furnishes  what  is 
deemed  a  divine  sanction  for  righteousness  and  love. 
Like  the  presence  of  God,  it  is  everjavhere,  and  is  not  to 
be  excluded  by  willful  selfishness  from  any  region  of 
thought  and  activity.  It  is  an  inspiring  and  regulating 
force,  the  spirit  of  love,  reverence,  hope,  and  trust,  pene- 
trating every  movement  and  forbidding  the  old  division 
into  secular  and  sacred.  We  have  looked  down  with 
haughty  and  ignorant  contempt  on  faiths  older  than 
Christian  history,  on  philosophies  which  are  among  the 
stupendous  exploits  of  the  human  intelligence,  and  we 
have  sometimes  defended  our  narrowness  and  ignorance 
with  texts  of  scripture.     But  a  better  day  has  dawned. 


302  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

In  six  of  the  leading  American  institutions  comparative 
religion  has  found  a  place.  Immense  interest  has  been 
aroused  and  many  will  now  sympathize  with  the  convic- 
tion expressed  by  another  that  until  our  religious  thoughts 
can  claim  to  be  universal  they  will  not  satisfy  a  rational 
being."  Through  the  kindness  of  the  University,  this 
address  was  widely  circulated.  It  was  republished  in 
England  and  India  and  received  a  warm  welcome.  In  it 
he  emphasized  the  importance  of  the  study  of  compara- 
tive religion,  called  attention  to  Mr.  Mozoomdar's  wish 
that  lectures  upon  it  might  be  heard  in  India  and  added, 
"May  not  some  friend  of  the  University  be  moved  to 
establish  in  Calcutta,  the  chief  center  of  college  training 
in  the  Asiatic  world,  a  lectureship  which  shall  carry  on 
the  good  work  of  enlightenment  and  fraternity  begun  by 
the  recent  Parliament  of  Religions?"  To  this  question 
Mrs.  Haskell  quickly  replied  in  the  following  letter: 

"Chicago,  Oct.   12,   1894. 
"To  President  William  R.  Harper,  Ph.  D.,  D.  D. 

"My  Dear  Sir:  I  take  pleasure  in  offering  to  the 
University  of  Chicago  the  sum  of  twenty  thousand  dol- 
lars for  the  founding  of  a  second  Lectureship  on  the  Re- 
lations of  Christianity  and  the  other  religions.  These 
lectures,  six  or  more  in  number,  are  to  be  given  in  Cal- 
cutta (India),  and,  if  deemed  best,  in  Bombay,  Madras, 
or  some  other  of  the  chief  cities  of  Hindustan,  where 
large  numbers  of  educated  Hindus  are  familiar  with  the 
English  language.  The  wish,  so  earnestly  expressed  by 
Mr.  P.  C.  Mozoomdar,  that  a  lectureship  like  that  which 
I  had  the  privilege  of  founding  last  summer  might  be 
provided  for  India,  has  led  me  to  consider  the  desirability 
of  establishing  in  some  great  collegiate  center,  like  Cal- 


HASKELL  AND  BARROWS  LECTURESHIPS    303 

cutta,  a  course  of  lectures  to  be  given,  either  annually 
or  as  may  seem  better,  biennially,  by  leading  Christian 
scholars  of  Europe,  Asia,  and  America,  in  which,  in  a 
friendly,  temperate,  conciliatory  way,  and  in  the  fraternal 
spirit  which  pervaded  the  Parliament  of  Religions,  the 
great  questions  of  the  truths  of  Christianity,  its  harmonies 
with  the  truths  of  other  religions,  its  rightful  claims,  and 
the  best  methods  of  setting  them  forth  should  be  presented 
to  the  scholarly  and  thoughtful  people  of  India. 

"It  is  my  purpose  to  identify  this  work,  which  I  be- 
lieve will  be  a  work  of  enlightenment  and  fraternity, 
with  the  University  Extension  Department  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Chicago,  and  it  is  my  desire  that  the  manage- 
ment of  this  lectureship  should  lie  with  yourself  as  Presi- 
dent of  all  the  Departments  of  the  University,  with  Rev- 
erend John  Henry  Barrows,  D.  D.,  the  Professorial  Lec- 
turer on  Comparative  Religion,  with  Professor  George  S. 
Goodspeed,  the  Associate  Professor  of  Comparative  Re- 
ligion, and  with  those  who  shall  be  your  and  their  suc- 
cessors in  these  positions.  It  is  my  request  that  this  lec- 
tureship shall  bear  the  name  of  John  Henry  Barrows, 
who  has  identified  himself  with  the  work  of  promoting 
friendly  relations  between  Christian  America  and  the 
people  of  India.  The  committee  having  the  management 
of  these  lectures  shall  also  have  the  authority  to  determine 
whether  any  of  the  courses  shall  be  given  in  Asiatic  or 
other  cities  outside  of  India. 

"In  reading  the  proceedings  of  the  Parliament  of  Re- 
ligions, I  have  been  struck  with  the  many  points  of  har- 
mony between  the  different  faiths,  and  the  possibility  of 
so  presenting  Christianity  to  others  as  to  win  their  favor- 
able interest  in  its  truths.  If  the  committee  shall  decide 
to  utilize  this  lectureship  still  further  in  calling  forth  the 


304 JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

views  of  scholarly  representatives  of  the  non-Christian 
faiths,  I  authorize  and  shall  approve  such  a  decision. 
Only  good  will  grow  out  of  such  a  comparison  of  views. 

"Europe  and  America  wish  to  hear  and  ponder  the 
best  that  Asia  can  give  them,  and  the  world  of  Asia  would 
gladly  listen  to  the  words  of  such  Christian  scholars  as 
Archdeacon  Farrar,  of  London;  Dr.  Fairbairn,  of  Ox- 
ford ;  Professor  Henry  Drummond  and  Professor  A.  B. 
Bruce,  of  Glasgow ;  Professor  George  P.  Fisher,  of  Yale ; 
Professor  Francis  G.  Peabody,  of  Harvard;  Bishop  H.  C. 
Potter  and  Dr.  Lyman  Abbott,  of  New  York,  and  sev- 
eral others  who  might  be  named  from  the  University  of 
Chicago.  It  is  my  wish  that,  accepting  the  offer  which 
I  now  make,  the  committee  of  the  University  will  corre- 
spond with  the  leaders  of  religious  thought  in  India,  and 
secure  from  them  such  helpful  suggestions  as  they  may  be 
ready  to  give.  I  cherish  the  expectation  that  the  Barrows 
Lectures  will  prove,  in  the  years  that  shall  come,  a  new 
golden  bond  between  the  East  and  the  West.  In  the 
belief  that  this  foundation  will  be  blessed  by  our  Heaven- 
ly Father,  to  the  extension  of  the  benign  influence  of 
our  great  University,  to  the  promotion  of  the  highest 
interests  of  humanity,  and  to  the  enlargement  of  the 
kingdom  of  Truth  and  Love  on  earth,  I  remain,  with 
much  regard.  Yours  sincerely, 

"Caroline  E.  Haskell." 

The  response  from  India  to  the  announcement  of  this 
proposed  lectureship  was  most  gratifying.  The  Calcutta 
"Statesman"  and  the  Madras  "Hindu"  greeted  it  with 
enthusiasm,  and  Dr.  K.  S.  MacDonald,  President  of  the 
Missionary  Conference  of  Calcutta,  Dr.  William  Miller, 
President  of  the  leading  College  of  Madras,   Professor 


HASKELL  AND  BARROWS  LECTURESHIPS    305 

Alexander  Tomary  of  Duff  College,  Reverend  R.  A. 
Hume  and  other  prominent  men  of  India  offered  the  Uni- 
versity their  cordial  support  and  sent  Mrs.  Haskell  their 
thanks. 

My  father  wrote  to  her:  "I  never  can  be  grateful 
enough  for  the  kindness  and  wisdom  with  which  you 
have  supplemented  and  carried  on  my  work.  These  two 
Lectureships  which  you  have  founded  will  be  an  abiding 
monument  for  the  Parliament  of  Religions  and,  more 
than  that,  they  will  perpetuate  and  w^iden  its  influence." 
Later  he  dedicated  a  volume  of  lectures  to  "The  elect 
lady,  beloved  and  honored  in  the  East  and  in  the  West, 
with  admiration  for  her  world-embracing  philanthropy, 
and  her  brave  and  far-seeing  faith  and  also  in  recognition 
of  her  splendid  services  to  the  cause  of  Oriental  learning 
in  America  and  of  the  expanding  kingdom  of  God  in  the 
continent  of  Asia." 

That  same  October,  he  was  greatly  saddened  by  the 
death  of  his  friend,  David  Swing.  On  the  seventh  he 
preached  Professor  Swing's  funeral  sermon,  from  which 
we  quote : 

"He  will  be  remembered  as  a  preacher  of  a  new  type. 
He  stood  before  you,  luminous  with  a  heavenly  light, 
his  features  made  lovely  by  his  thought,  discoursing  of 
the  life  of  man,  'the  life  of  love,  the  divine  Jesus,  the 
blissful  immortality.'  He  found  in  the  Bible,  to  use 
his  own  words,  'the  record  of  God's  will  as  to  the  life  and 
salvation  of  His  children.'  He  did  not  preach  like  others, 
but  according  to  the  bent  of  his  own  genius.  His  dis- 
course might  not  harmonize  with  Professor  Phelps's  defi- 
nition of  a  sermon ;  it  was  not  always  a  popular  speech  on 
truth  derived  directly  from  the  scriptures,  elaborately 
treated  with  a  view  to  persuasion,  but  there  was  a  quiet 


3o6 JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

power  which  moved  many  minds  as  fiery  exhortation  or 
elaborate  exegesis  does  not  always  move  them.  With 
ethical  enthusiasm,  with  luminous  intelligence,  with  gentle 
sympathy,  he  made  known  his  faith  in  God's  goodness  and 
man's  possibilities.  His  intellectual  refinement  was  ex- 
traordinary, and  it  seems  almost  an  irony  of  fate  that 
this  rude  city  of  the  West  should  have  held  the  most  cul- 
tured and  esthetic  of  American  preachers. 

"As  he  felt  deeply  that  men  are  to  be  aided  best  through 
hope  and  generous  praise  he  would  not  fix  his  mind  on 
the  evil  only.  He  said:  'If  we  come  to  think  that  all 
are  worshiping  gold,  we,  too,  despairing  of  all  else,  will 
soon  degrade  ourselves  by  bowing  at  the  same  altar.' 
How  he  called  our  thoughts  away  to  the  better  aspects 
of  the  age,  and  while  men  were  scanning  with  eager  envy 
deeds  of  the  millionaires  he  bade  us  mark  'how  our  schol- 
ars hurried  to  the  far  west  to  study  the  last  eclipse  of 
the  sun,  and  how  a  score  of  new  sciences  met  on  that 
mountain  top  to  ask  the  shadow  to  tell  them  something 
more  about  the  star  depths  and  the  throne  of  the  Al- 
mighty.' Who  else  in  our  time  has  preached  more  con- 
tinuously and  persuasively  the  gospel  of  a  kingdom  of 
God  on  earth? 

"Now,  that  he  has  gone,  how  many  of  us  wish  that  we 
had  known  him  better!  And  yet  many  felt  that  he  was 
their  friend  and  that  they  knew  him  well,  though  they 
may  never  have  sat  at  his  table  or  conversed  with  him 
familiarly  of  high  themes.  Their  souls  have  had  sympa- 
thetic communion  with  his  spirit,  and  every  week  they 
have  talked  with  what  was  best  of  him.  For  several 
years  it  was  my  fortune  to  live  within  a  few  miles  of 
the  poet  Whittier,  and  I  never  thought  it  needful  to  in- 
trude myself  into  his  home  in  order  to  know  him,   for 


HASKELL  AND  BARROWS  LECTURESHIPS    307 

had  he  not  spoken  his  choicest  thought  to  me  for  twenty 
years?  Had  not  his  psalm  been  to  me  like  David's  and 
why  should  I  look  at  the  features  of  the  Hermit  Thrush 
of  Amesbury  to  know  the  music  of  his  soul?  All  this  is 
true  with  many  of  our  friends;  it  was  true  with  David 
Swing,  and  it  will  remain  peculiarly  true  now  that  he  has 
gone.  A  leader  of  thought,  a  prophet  of  the  gentle  hu- 
manities of  Jesus,  has  fallen,  and  the  old  places  which  he 
loved  here  are  desolate.  The  October  leaves  will  cover 
paths  where  he  used  to  walk;  winter  will  spread  her 
white  mantle  over  the  earth,  and  spring,  which  he  so 
loved,  will  come  again  and  clothe  the  fields  with  grass 
and  blossoms,  but  he  will  not  see  them,  nor  the  summer 
flowers  which  seemed  to  live  in  his  speech.  But  we  be- 
lieve that  his  is  an  eternal  springtime,  or  a  beautiful  un- 
ending sum.mer,  and  that  more  than  all  the  loveliness 
which  he  knew  on  earth  shall  be  his  forever." 

Something  more  of  his  life  that  fall  and  winter  may  be 
learned  from  his  letters: 

"Chicago,  Sept.  19,  1894. 

"Your  mother  and  I  are  deep  in  Kidd's  'Social  Evolu- 
tion' and  she  thinks  it  one  of  the  greatest  books  she  ever 
read.  I  am  not  quite  so  wild  over  it.  We  have  been 
reading  a  little  in  Dean  Stanley's  letters  and  found  some 
good  stories.  He  called  upon  the  Pope,  who  told  him  of 
an  English  clergyman  who  camie  to  convert  him.  This 
English  clergyman  talked  Latin  with  the  English  pro- 
nunciation and  the  Pope  was  surprised  to  be  called  by 
him  Sancte  Pater.  He  thought  that  the  Protestant  Eng- 
lishman had  called  him  'Holy  Peter.'  So  I  am  learning 
that  there  are  some  advantages  in  your  pronunciation. 
If  I  hstd  my  life  to  live  over  again  I  should  make  up  my 


3o8  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

mind  to  read  and  speak  Latin,  German,  and  French  be- 
fore I  was  twenty. 

"Chicago,  Sept.  26,  1894. 

"I  am  to  speak  at  Miss  Willard's  reception  on  Friday 
evening.  I  have  finished  my  Convocation  Address.  On 
Monday  there  came  a  letter  from  Monsignor  O'Connell, 
the  head  of  the  American  College  in  Rome,  in  reply  to 
my  present  to  the  Pope  of  those  tAvo  beautiful  volumes 
which  Mr.  P.  brought  back  from  London.  I  will  quote 
a  part  of  the  letter. 

"He  says,  'I  was  absent  from  Rome  when  the  articles 
arrived,  traveling  in  the  East  and  in  Greece,  and  on  my 
return  I  found  many  duties  awaiting  my  immediate  at- 
tention, while  in  the  meantime  I  was  seeking  a  favorable 
opportunity  for  making  the  presentation.  This  I  did  last 
Wednesday  evening.  That  work  was  in  everj'  way  very 
much  out  of  the  common,  in  its  magnificent  get  up,  its 
striking  illustrations  and  its  highly  and  finely  artistically 
finished  binding.  But  then  more  unusual  still  the  burden 
of  its  story  was  entirely  new.  "Holy  Father,"  I  said,  "I 
present  you  a  history,  not  only  unique  in  its  kind,  but 
absolutely  the  only  one  ever  written  on  this  new  subject, 
since  the  world  began."  "And  what  is  that?"  he  inquired. 
"Your  Holiness,  The  History  of  the  Parliament  of  Re- 
ligions." "It  is  presented  to  you,"  I  continued,  "by  the 
Reverend  John  Henrj^  Barrows  of  Chicago,  President  of 
the  Parliament,  who  sent  the  work  to  London  to  have  it 
finished  in  this  artistic  manner  for  your  Holiness."  All 
his  interest  was  awakened.  He  inquired  more  about  the 
Parliament,  asked  what  part  the  Catholic  Church  had 
taken  in  it  and  heard  with  pleasure  that  it  was  well  rep- 
resented.    Then  volume  after  volume  he  turned  over  all 


HASKELL  AND  BARROWS  LECTURESHIPS    309 

the  pages  to  see  the  illustrations,  and  asked  me  explana- 
tions of  the  most  striking  ones.  Finally,  placing  the 
volumes  on  his  little  writing  table,  he  charged  me  to 
write  you  his  most  cordial  thanks  and  to  assure  you  that 
your  present  was  most  gratifying  and  that  he  appreciates 
very  highly  what  you  have  done. 

"  'It  is  a  great  pleasure  for  me  to  write  you  these 
words,  and  I  take  it  as  no  mean  sign  of  peace  and  good 
will  for  the  future,  that  the  Head  of  the  Church  receives 
with  such  gratification  the  history  of  the  Parliament  of 
Religions.  "Glory  to  God  in  the  Highest,  and  on  earth 
peace  to  men  of  good  will,"  is  the  sentiment  I  know  you 
and  I  equally  wish  to  gird  the  whole  world  round,  and 
to  unite  the  whole  human  brotherhood  into  one  family 
whose  father  is  God.  "One  fold  and  one  shepherd." 
Asking  you  again  to  pardon  my  long  delay,  I  remain  with 
sentiments  of  profound  regard, 

"  'Most  respectfully  yours, 

"  'D.  J.  O'ConnelL' 

"I  must  say  that  I  read  this  letter  with  very  deep  in- 
terest. It  was  a  compensation  for  much  of  the  hard 
labor  and  anxiety  which  I  have  undergone  in  the  last 
four  years.  Just  think  of  all  my  labors  with  the  dignita- 
ries of  the  Catholic  Church  from  the  time  when  I  called 
on  Archbishop  Feehan  in  the  spring  of  i8go  to  this  con- 
summation of  my  work  with  the  benediction  and  thanks 
of  the  Pope  of  Rome. 

"I  have  no  good  stories  to  tell  except  one.  I  was  talk- 
ing with  Father  Cox,  a  Catholic  priest,  at  a  committee 
meeting  the  other  day.  In  a  pause  in  the  meeting  I  told 
him  that  I  had  had  the  last  communication  of  anybody 
in  Chicago  from  His  Holiness,  the  Pope,  and  then  ex- 


310  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

plained  what  it  was.  He  grasped  me  by  the  hand,  and 
said  with  a  hearty  grin,  'We'll  have  you  in  the  Church 
yet/     I  told  him  that  I  was  in  the  Church  already." 

"November  23,   1894. 

"I  am  getting  first  letters  from  Europe  in  regard  to 
the  pamphlets  which  I  sent  out.  Yesterday  I  got  a  big 
dose  of  bitter  and  biting  criticism  of  the  Parliament  from 
Dr.  Pierson,  in  the  Missionary  Review  of  the  World, 
but  the  chief  interest  of  the  last  two  days  has  been  Gen- 
eral Booth.  The  arrangements  for  his  meeting  the  Min- 
isters of  Chicago  were  given  to  me,  and  I  went  to  work 
to  get  him  an  audience.  First,  I  got  Willard  Hall,  which 
will  hold  about  eight  hundred.  Then  I  had  the  leading 
Ministerial  Associations  unite  to  invite  him.  Then  I  sent 
invitations  to  all  theological  seminaries.  Catholic  and 
Protestant,  of  this  neighborhood,  asking  the  faculties  to  be 
present  with  the  senior  classes.  Then  I  had  the  Salvation 
Army  people  send  out  a  postal  card  invitation  and  re- 
minder, to  every  minister  in  this  city.  In  this  way,  I 
hoped  to  get  perhaps  three  or  four  hundred  ministers  to- 
gether. When  I  entered  Willard  Hall  at  three  o'clock 
yesterday  afternoon,  a  thousand  had  jammed  themselves 
into  every  available  square  inch  of  the  beautiful  hall.  The 
General  was  glorious.  In  the  evening,  K.  and  I  went  to 
the  Auditorium.  I  was  to  introduce  him  there  and  make 
an  address  of  welcome.  Every  seat  was  taken.  Hundreds 
stood.  There  were  two  hundred  and  fifty  Salvationists 
on  the  platform.  You  will  be  glad  to  know  that 
K.  has  become  very  popular  in  Chicago.  When 
she  appeared  on  the  platform  last  night,  the 
drummers  drummed,  the  horns  tooted,  the  Salvation- 
ists and  five  thousand  people  besides,  arose  and  cheered, 


HASKELL  AND  BARROWS  LECTURESHIPS    311 

and  waved  their  handkerchiefs.  K.  was  almost  terrified 
but  as  General  Booth  and  I  accompanied  her,  she  soon  was 
quieted.  At  the  close  of  nearly  every  sentence  of  my 
address  of  welcome,  the  Salvationists  beat  the  drums, 
clashed  the  cymbals,  and  shouted.  Amen  and  Halleluiah. 
It  was  glorious.  General  Booth  spoke  on  'Darkest  Eng- 
land and  the  Way  Out.'  He  is  a  great  orator,  and  made 
a  great  impression.  The  singing  of  the  Salvation  Army 
Hymn,  led  by  Ballington  Booth,  was  something  to  re- 
member for  a  lifetime.  The  General  is  to  speak  at  the 
University  tomorrow,  and  if  I  get  time  I  shall  go  down 
and  present  him  to  Dr.  Harper.  I  am  beginning  to  do  a 
little  work  on  my  lectures.  I  suppose  your  mother  has 
told  you  that  we  are  thinking  seriously  of  going  to  India 
in  a  year  or  two.  I  must  get  something  ready  which  it 
will  do  to  deliver  in  Calcutta." 

"March  6,  1895. 
"So  you  have  been  appointed  to  report  on  the  Barrows 
Lectureship  before  your  Oriental  Club.  You  will  find 
in  the  March  number  of  the  Missionary  Review  of  the 
World  important  discussions  on  this  Lectureship  by  Rev- 
erend J.  T.  Gracey,  D.  D.  This  will  give  both  sides  of 
the  debate  now  going  on  in  India.  The  whole  discussion 
seems  to  hinge  on  this,  whether  Christianity  will  gain 
much  by  emphasizing  the  harmonies  which  are  supposed 
to  exist  on  some  points  between  itself  and  the  other 
faiths.  If  you  take  the  affirmative  of  that  position,  you 
may  find  some  reinforcement  in  the  opinions  of  Professor 
Alexander  Tomory  of  Duff  College,  Calcutta,  who  writes 
to  me,  'Nothing  has  delighted  me  more  in  recent  years 
than  the  growth  of  that  spirit  of  toleration,  based  on 
knowledge,  which  now  characterizes  Christianity  versus 


312  JOHN  HENRY   BARROWS 

Hinduism.  Before  I  went  to  India  my  favorite  study 
was  comparative  religion.  In  Duff  College,  Calcutta, 
I  have  taught  Christianity  in  the  Bible  hour,  and  in  recent 
years  have  gained  great  attention  and  cordial  sympathy 
for  Christianity  by  presenting  it,  not  as  is  too  often  done, 
in  sharp  contrast  to  Hinduism  and  Buddhism,  etc.,  but 
as  a  piece  of  the  development  of  Religion,  without  which 
the  history  of  Religion  would  be  incomplete.  I  find  that 
the  Hindu  mind  is  prepared  for  the  theory  of  Incarna- 
tion by  its  own  theology  and  that  a  large  part  of  Chris- 
tian vital  truth  as  opposed  to  secondary  truth  can  be  de- 
duced from  the  idea  of  Incarnation.  This  broad  plat- 
form has  been  the  basis  of  my  teaching  for  the  past  few 
years,  and  I  have  seen,  with  great  satisfaction,  cordiality 
take  the  place  of  dogged  indifference  in  the  Bible  Class, 
and  in  many  cases  I  have  seen  spiritual  interest  aroused 
which  will  I  believe  be  eternal  in  its  consequences.  From 
this  you  will  understand  how  cordially  I  agree  with  your 
circular  and  its  objects.'  I  think  that  Gracey's  article, 
together  with  the  Biblical  World,  will  furnish  you  more 
than  you  can  use.  We  are  now  trying  to  secure  an  emi- 
nent Anglican  to  give  the  first  course  of  lectures.  Things 
go  by  governmental  influence  in  India  and  I  have  written 
to  the  Viceroy,  Lord  Elgin,  asking  his  cooperation.  The 
letter  is  forwarded  by  Lady  Henry  Somerset  through 
her  friends  in  the  English  Government.  I  do  not  expect 
to  go  before  1897.  The  Mohammedans  have  not  wel- 
comed the  Lectureship  in  India.  The  missionaries  in 
Southern  India  are  more  favorable  than  those  in  Northern 
India.  An  editorial  has  just  come  from  Bombay  from 
the  "Times"  of  India — very  friendly  to  the  Lectureship. 
Among  other  things  the  editor  says,  'We  live  in  a  day  of 
comparative   study;   and   are   already   far   past   the   time 


HASKELL  AND  BARROWS  LECTURESHIPS    313 

when  the  intelligent  votaries  of  any  creed  see  harm  or 
insult  in  a  quiet  and  philosophical  attempt  to  compare 
it  with  others.'  " 

"April  5,  1895. 
"Did  I  write  j^ou  that  the  University  had  offered  Mr. 
Gladstone  a  thousand  pounds  if  he  would  go  to  India 
next  winter  and  give  the  first  course  of  lectures  on  the 
new  foundation?  This  is  not  in  the  papers  yet.  Of 
course,  we  had  no  hope  that  he  would  accept,  but  we  did 
hope  to  receive  from  him  an  appreciative  letter.  A  cable 
from  Reverend  F.  Herbert  Stead  says:  'Gladstone  appre- 
ciatively declines,  recommends  Gore.'  This  is  Principal 
Charles  Gore  of  the  Pusey  House,  Oxford,  one  of  the 
authors  of  'Lux  Mundi.'  My  mind  has  been  on  Gore 
for  some  time.  I  have  just  been  reading  his  last  book 
of  lectures  on  the  Incarnation.  He  is  just  now  the  'fad' 
with  orthodox  English  churchmen.  He  is  a  man  of  great 
ability  and  of  reasonable  liberality.  Of  course  if  he  went 
to  India  we  should  get  a  backing  for  the  Barrows  Lecture- 
ship from  the  English  Church ;  this  is  very  important. 
The  question  which  we  have  now  in  mind  is,  whether 
we  shall  try  to  get  Principal  Gore  to  go  in  December  1895 
or  in  December  1896,  or  whether  we  would  better  wait 
for  me  to  inaugurate  the  course  in  1897." 

"April  nth,  1895. 
"I  have  a  letter  from  Canon  Fremantle  of  Canterbury 
inviting  me  to  speak  in  the  'Jerusalem  Chamber'  before 
the  Christian  Conference,  an  association  founded  by  Dean 
Stanley  representing  all  the  leading  churches.  Unfortu- 
nately the  meeting  is  June  17th  and  I  cannot  go.  How 
I  wish  that  I  had  not  arranged  to  go  to  Chautauqua  this 
summer    and    could    have    enlarged    my    European    trip. 


314 JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

Canon  Fremantle  invites  us  to  visit  him  in  Canterbury. 

"The  letter  from  Mr.  Gladstone  has  come  and  we  are 
greatly  pleased  with  the  warm  appreciation  with  which 
he  writes.  We  are  sending  this  week  a  letter  of  invita- 
tion to  Canon  Gore  of  Westminster,  who,  Mr.  Gladstone 
says,  'is  filling  Westminster  Abbey  by  his  week-day  ser- 
mons.' We  had  a  lovely  call  on  President  Harper  yes- 
terday afternoon.  I  am  invited  to  lecture  at  Oberlin  next 
month,  but  I  must  decline.  Dr.  George  Dana  Board- 
man  is  here.  I  have  heard  two  lectures  from  him  al- 
ready. He  is  one  of  the  wisest  and  best  of  men.  We  had 
an  election  here  a  few  days  ago,  as  you  may  have  seen, 
and  the  Republican  candidate  for  maj-or,  Mr.  George  B. 
Swift,  went  in  by  the  unprecedented  plurality  of  forty- 
two  thousand,  and  the  corruptest  administration  that  even 
Chicago  ever  had  was  trampled  into  the  mud  which  it 
had  made.  The  Civil  Service  Law  was  ratified  by  an  im- 
n:ense  majority.  Mr.  Swift  is  already  at  the  helm  and  we 
have  a  chance,  I  think  very  good  chance,  for  genuine 
municipal  reform." 

"May  20,  1895. 

"Now  I  must  tell  you  about  Canon  Gore.  A  letter 
has  come  from  Mr.  Stead  written  just  after  his  inter- 
view with  Canon  Gore  at  the  Abbey.  He  was  delight- 
fully received  and  found  the  Canon  most  pleasantly  im- 
pressed with  the  idea  of  going  to  India.  He  is  exceedingly 
busy,  and  thinks  that  he  may  not  be  able  to  go  this  year. 
He  was  very  much  touched  by  Mr.  Gladstone's  letter 
and  is  also  favorably  impressed  with  the  Parliament  of 
Religions.  Mr.  Stead  writes  that  he  believes  Mr.  Gore 
will  accept.  But  a  cable  has  come,  sent  a  week  after  the 
letter,  saying,  'Gore  declines.'  Dr.  Harper,  Professor 
Goodspeed  and  I  think  that  we  would  better  not  take  the 


HASKELL  AND  BARROWS  LECTURESHIPS    315 

r;  ■ 

declination  as  final,  since  he  wants  to  go.  It  is  probably 
a  question  of  time  which  troubles  him.  In  a  few  days  I 
expect  to  receive  Mr.  Gore's  letter  which  will  give  us 
more  definite  information. 

"We  are  on  the  whole  encouraged  by  what  we  hear 
from  London.  I  am  used  to  delays  and  temporary  dis- 
appointments. I  had  three  years  of  such  experience  in 
the  Parliament  and  came  out  ahead  after  all.  This  seems 
to  me  nothing.  Perhaps  I  shall  see  Mr.  Gore  this  sum- 
mer. Two  other  men  whom  we  have  had  in  mind,  Dr. 
Fairbairn  and  Professor  Bruce,  are  to  lecture  at  the  Uni- 
versity this  summer  and  we  may  sound  them  and  see 
what  can  be  done.  But  unless  Canon  Gore  can  be  se- 
cured it  may  be  that  I  ought  to  go  to  India  as  the  first 
Lecturer,  in  which  case,  I  ought  not  to  put  it  off  later 
than  the  winter  of  1896.  That  is  a  year  from  next 
December.  I  am  afraid  that  affairs  of  the  church  will 
not  be  in  a  condition  to  make  it  prudent  for  me  to  ask 
release,  so  we  will  be  patient  for  a  while  longer. 

"You  are  daily  in  my  loving  thoughts  and  prayers.  I 
too  have  been  through  intellectual  trouble  and  unrest. 
The  main  thing  is  not  to  put  too  much  confidence  in  any 
recently  adopted  philosophical  theories.  They  may  be 
venerable  and  worm-eaten  'chestnuts,'  and  are  not  to  be 
mistaken  for  the  bread  of  life.  We  all  have  responsi- 
bility to  the  coming  generations.  The  life  of  the  true 
Church  must  not  be  broken.  God  has  given  us  great 
truth,  to  be  handed  down  and  handed  on,  and  we  must 
be  careful  that  some  of  the  water  of  life  does  not  leak  out 
of  our  imperfect  vessels.  While  cherishing  one  truth,  we 
must  take  care  not  to  lose  others  of  equal  importance." 

On  six  Sunday  afternoons,  beginning  with  May  5th, 
he  gave  to  crowded  audiences  in  Kent  Theater  the  first 


3i6  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

course  of  the  Haskell  lectures,  choosing  as  his  themes, 
"World-wide  Aspects  of  Christianity,"  "World-wide  Ef- 
fects of  Christianity,'  "The  Universal  Book,"  "The 
Universal  Man  and  Saviour,"  "The  Christian  Revela- 
tion of  God  the  Basis  of  a  Universal  Religion,"  and  "The 
Historic  Character  of  Christianity  as  Confirming  its 
Claims  to  World-wide  Authority." 

During  the  next  two  months  he  wrote  to  Mrs.  Haskell: 

"May  25th,  1895. 

"I  have  spent  much  time  recently  with  Reverend  Joseph 
Cook,  who  is  to  leave  very  soon  for  Australia,  New  Zea- 
land, Japan,  and  India  on  a  lecturing  tour  around  the 
world.  His  wife  will  meet  him  in  October  in  Japan. 
He  has  taken  quite  a  number  of  the  pamphlets  and  he  is 
unbounded  in  his  enthusiasm  for  the  lectureship.  He 
says  that  no  halls  in  India  will  be  large  enough  to  hold 
the  audiences  that  will  come  out  to  hear  me  when  I  go. 
He  is  greatly  pleased  with  Canon  Gore,  but  he  thinks  that 
I  ought  to  be  the  first  lecturer.  Mr.  Cook  and  I  lunch 
with  Dr.  Harper  this  noon.  He  speaks  at  the  University 
to-day  and  in  our  church  Sunday  night.  I  introduced 
him  last  night  at  the  Union  Park  Congregational  Church 
of  the  West  Side.  If  you  could  have  heard  the  magnilo- 
quent language  in  which  he  spoke  of  the  Lectureships,  of 
the  Parliament  and  of  me,  you  would  have  blushed  for 
me. 

"I  have  a  letter  from  Professor  Bonet-Maury  from 
Paris  giving  an  account  of  a  very  important  conference 
held  in  Mrs.  Potter  Palmer's  drawing-room  at  the  Grand 
Hotel  early  this  month,  at  which  they  talked  over  the 
prospects  of  a  Parliament  in  Paris  in  1900.  She  related 
her  interview  with  the  Pope.     She  asked  of  him  if  he  ap- 


HASKELL  AND  BARROWS  LECTURESHIPS    317 

proved  of  the  Parliament  of  Religions  in  Chicago.  He 
replied  that  he  had  been  satisfied  with  the  result,  had  ap- 
proved the  participation  of  the  American  bishops  and 
had  no  objection  that  they  should  hold  another  Parlia- 
ment or  Congress  elsewhere,  although  he  did  not  say  in 
Europe  or  in  France.  One  of  the  Catholic  writers  pres- 
ent at  the  conference  said  that  the  Archbishops  of  Paris, 
several  of  the  bishops  and  professors  in  the  Catholic  in- 
stitutes, and  several  editors  to  Catholic  reviews  were 
favorable  to  the  Parliament.  The  Jesuits  are  hostile  to 
it." 

"May  28th,  1895. 
"Dr.  Harper  wishes  to  have  a  ceremony  at  the  laying 
of  the  corner-stone  of  the  Haskell  Museum,  in  the  course 
of  two  or  three  weeks,  and  after  much  reluctance  I  have 
consented  to  make  the  address.  There  never  has  been  a 
ceremony  at  the  laying  of  a  corner-stone  in  the  University 
before,  but  as  yours  is  the  first  building  ever  erected  in 
the  New  World  dedicated  exclusively  to  Oriental  studies, 
and  as  the  occasion  can  be  made  one  of  great  interest  and 
profit  to  the  University,  he  is  anxious  to  have  the  event 
properly  celebrated." 

"June  5th,  1895- 
"Canon  Gore  writes  as  follows: 

"  '4  Little  Cloisters, 

"  'Westminster. 

"  'To  the  President  of  the  University  of  Chicago,  Etc. : 
"  'Gentlemen : — I  should  have  felt  that  your  weighty 
appeal  demanded  my  most  serious  consideration,  but, 
after  consultation  with  the  Dean  of  Westminster,  I  feel 
sure  that  I  ought  not  for  several  years  to  come  to  enter- 
tain any  proposal  which  would  involve  my  absence  during 


3i8     JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

the  winter  months  from  my  work  at  Westminster  upon 
which  I  have  so  recently  entered. 

"  'Allow  me,  gentlemen,  to  express  my  sense  uf  the 
honor  you  have  done  me  in  offering  me  the  post  of  lecturer 
on  your  new  foundation,  and,  with  every  expression  of 
regard,  believe  me  to  be, 

"  'Yours  faithfully, 

"  'Charles  Gore.' 

"I  am  pleased  with  his  letter  for  many  reasons.  I 
still  hope  we  shall  be  able  to  get  him  for  the  next  lecturer. 
Everj^thing  seems  to  point  to  my  going  to  India  first." 

"June  1 2th,  1895. 

"Dr.  Joseph  Cook  made  a  very  graceful  and  hearty 
reference  to  my  work  in  the  introduction  of  his  address 
at  the  First  Church  Sunday  evening.  Speaking  of  the 
minister,  he  said,  'He  has  fought  a  good  fight,'  and  then, 
with  tremiendous  emphasis,  'and  has  kept  the  faith,'  then, 
pausing  and  bringing  down  his  two  heels  so  as  to  shake 
the  rostrum,  he  added,  'but  he  has  by  no  means  finished 
his  course.' 

"By  the  way,  I  have  received  a  little  book  for  you 
called  'A  Compilation  of  Theistic  Texts'  from  the  various 
scriptures.  It  was  sent  to  'Lady  Caroline  E.  Haskell.' 
It  is  partly  in  English  and  partly  in  some  Hindu  lan- 
guage.    Shall  I  send  it  to  you  or  wait  till  we  meet?" 

"June  19th,  1895. 
"I  arrived  at  Ithaca  Saturday  noon,  and  was  met  by 
the  P:;:ident's  Secretary  with  a  carriage  and  was  taken 
to  Sage  College,  the  College  for  Women  on  the  Campus, 
where  I  was  entertained.  The  views  from  the  Uni- 
versity Hill  are  magnificent.     The  buildings  are  numer- 


HASKELL  AND  BARROWS  LECTURESHIPS    319 

ous  and  fine.  I  preached  Sunday  afternoon  the  bac- 
calaureate sermon  in  the  Armory  Hall,  before  a  great 
audience.  I  seldom  enjoyed  speaking  so  thoroughly. 
When  I  said  'Members  of  the  graduating  class,'  more 
than  four  hundred  men  and  women  rose  up  to  receive 
the  parting  words.  It  was  a  great  sight.  I  was  par- 
ticularly pleased  to  have  some  of  the  mothers  of  the 
graduates  come  to  me  at  the  close  and  speak  warmly  and 
gratefully  of  what  their  sons  had  heard.  In  the  evening 
I  took  dinner  at  President  Schurman's,  when  I  met 
Governor  Cornell,  and  Mr.  H.  W.  Sage,  who  has  given 
more  than  half  a  million  dollars  to  the  University.  In 
the  evening  I  preached  at  a  union  service  of  the  Pres- 
byterian and  Methodist  Churches  and  gave  the  second 
of  the  Haskell  Lectures,  which  was  cordially  received." 

"July,  1895. 

"I  thought  of  you  often  last  week  but  was  so  fearfully 
busy  preparing  and  delivering  my  addresses  before  the 
Christian  Endeavor  Convention  in  Boston,  seeing  friends 
and  attending  the  meetings,  that  I  had  no  time  to  write. 
I  had  a  glorious  time  and  hope  I  did  some  good.  I  sup- 
pose I  addressed  some  twenty  thousand  people  in  the 
four  speeches  which  I  made.  There  were  frequent  ref- 
erences made  to  the  work  which  I  have  done  and  which 
through  your  kindness  I  hope  to  do  in  India.  One  funny 
thing  was  this,  that  I  was  always  introduced  as  having 
had  a  leading  part  in  the  Religious  Congress  of  1893. 
One  man  said  in  introducing  me,  'I  am  to  present  to 
you  a  man  who  did  something  which  no  man  ever  did 
since  Adam  kissed  Eve.'  " 

In  spite  of  the  extras  so  prominent  in  these  letters,  he 
was  still  giving  most  of  his  energy  to  preaching.     His 


320  JOHN  HENRY   BARROWS 

sermons  of  this  year  lead  us  to  think  that  his  responsi- 
bilities and  outward  successes  were  but  deepening  his 
prayerfulness.  He  himself  seems  an  illustration  of  the 
truth  of  his  own  words — "A  swift  and  instant  reference 
of  all  things  to  God  is  the  essence  of  humility.  If  one 
has  a  truly  noble  nature,  you  will  never  find  him  more 
humble  than  in  the  hour  of  triumph."  However,  the 
chief  new  interests  of  these  months  were  comparative 
religion  and  the  University  of  Chicago.  And  his  love 
for  both  is  plain  in  his  speech  on  July  i,  1895,  at  the 
laying  of  the  corner-stone  of  the  Haskell  Oriental 
Museum. 

"As  the  three  chief  languages  of  the  ancient  world 
were  employed  to  write  on  the  Cross  of  Christ  the  in- 
scription of  his  royalty,  so  the  same  three  languages  are 
used  to  inscribe  on  the  corner-stone  of  this  building  sen- 
tences which  will  be  both  inspiration  and  guidance  to  the 
scholars  who,  through  coming  centuries,  shall  pass  in  and 
out  of  this  beautiful  edifice. 

"Lux  ex  Oriente.  It  comes  to  us  with  every  daybreak, 
awakening  joy  and  hope,  as  the  solar  king  flames  in  the 
forehead  of  the  morning  sky.  From  the  East  have  come 
the  world's  religions,  all  of  them  native  to  Asia;  from 
the  East  has  come  the  Bible  of  humanity;  in  the  East 
have  risen  the  mighty  prophets  whose  words  are  the  life 
of  our  civilization.  And  with  faces  fronting  the  dawn, 
we  still  anticipate  new  sunbursts  of  truth,  that  light 
which  never  was  on  sea  or  land,  which  dwells  in  the  souls 
of  sages  and  saints,  of  apostles  and  martyrs,  and  of  all 
devout  seekers  after  the  divine. 

"On  this  corner-stone  is  also  inscribed  a  sentence  from 
the  Hebrew  psalms  in  that  venerable  language  wherein 
was  written  the  chief  part  of  the  world's  great  Bible, 


HASKELL  AND  BARROWS  LECTURESHIPS    321 

'The  entrance  of  thy  words  giveth  light.'  All  of  God's 
utterances  deserve  this  eulogy.  It  was  enlightenment 
which  came  to  Prince  Siddartha  beneath  the  bo-tree;  it 
was  enlightenment  which  came  to  Saul  at  Damascus,  the 
divine  word  entering  into  his  soul  in  dazzling  illumina- 
tion. It  was  enlightenment  which  came  to  Socrates  in 
the  streets  of  Athens,  through  the  divine  haunting  Genius 
whom  he  questioned.  It  was  enlightenment  which  the 
Persian  worshipers  sought  and  found  on  the  eastern  hill- 
tops brilliant  with  the  banners  of  the  morning.  Pre- 
eminently it  was  enlightenment  which  came  with  the 
divine  word  to  the  souls  of  those  Hebrew  prophets  who 
are  ever  urging  us  to  walk  in  the  light  of  the  Eternal. 

"And  on  the  third  side  of  this  corner-stone  is  inscribed 
in  Greek,  the  language  of  the  highest  and  broadest  cul- 
ture, that  word  from  the  Prologue  of  the  Fourth  Gospel 
which  says  of  the  Logos,  the  Christ,  'He  was  the  true, 
or  the  original  light,  which,  coming  into  the  world,  en- 
lighteneth  every  man.'  The  Christian  faith  which  identi- 
fies the  spiritual  illumination  of  our  race  with  that  gra- 
cious manifestation  of  God,  which  came  through  His  Son 
in  the  Incarnation,  now  irradiates  those  hopeful  and 
earnest  studies  into  comparative  religion  from  which 
theology  rightly  expects  so  much.     We  believe  that 

'The  word  unto  the  prophet  spoken 
Was  writ  on  tables  yet  unbroken; 
The  word  by  seers  or  sibyls  told 
In  groves  of  oak  or  fanes  of  gold, 
Still  floats  upon  the  morning  wind 
Still  whispers  to  the  willing  mind ; 
One  accent  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
The  heedless  world  has  never  lost/ 


222        JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

"And  we  who  cherish  the  Christ,  as  He  is  revealed  in 
the  Scriptures,  gratefully  and  reverently  identify  Him 
with  the  universal  manifestations  of  God's  truth  and  love. 

"A  century  hence  the  Haskell  Oriental  Museum,  now 
rising,  will  be  surrounded  by  groups  of  academic  build- 
ings that  shall  repeat  many  of  the  glories  so  dear  to 
Oxford.  Two  hundred  years  hence  this  University  may 
be  a  seat  of  learning  like  that  by  the  Isis,  learning  hal- 
lowed by  time  and  by  sacred  memories, 

'The  Past's  incalculable  hoard, 
Mellowed  by  scutcheoned  panes  in  cloisters  old 
Seclusions  iv>'-hushed,  and  pavements  sweet 
With  immemorial  lisp  of  musing  feet.' 

"All  honor,  then,  to  those  who  have  so  wisely  planned 
and  skillfully  guided  the  development  of  this  University! 
All  blessings  on  the  generous  benefactress  whose  gracious 
hand  lifts  this  structure  toward  the  sky!  All  hail  to  the 
imperial  future,  rich  with  the  increasing  spoils  of  learn- 
ing and  the  multiplied  triumphs  of  faith,  of  which  the 
Oriental  Museum  is  a  sure  and  golden  prophecy." 


CHAPTER  XVII 

THE  END  OF  HIS  CHICAGO  PASTORATE,  1 895- 1 896 

One  of  the  secrets  of  my  father's  unarrested  growth 
was  his  willingness  to  turn  from  lessons  he  had  mastered 
to  tasks  as  yet  untried.  He  wrote  in  one  of  his  sermons 
at  this  time,  "Spiritual  progress  is  dependent  on  a  certain 
kind  of  forgetfulness.  We  must  not  all  the  while  be 
relearning  the  alphabet,  dwelling  evermore  in  our  spirit- 
ual infancy.  The  other  day  in  looking  over  some  papers 
I  found  a  number  of  essays  written  when  I  was  a  boy 
in  college,  and  to  my  great  surprise  they  indicated,  in  a 
vealy  and  immature  way,  many  of  the  lines  of  conviction 
and  of  activity  on  which  my  life  has  since  proceeded.  But 
I  had  forgotten  them.  And  it  certainly  would  have 
been  foolish  for  me  to  have  kept  these  essays  on  my  library 
table  through  all  these  years  to  be  guides  and  models  to  a 
growing  mind.  I  do  not  believe  it  is  a  good  thing  for 
men  to  be  all  the  while  remembering  their  successes  or 
spending  their  time,  until  they  get  to  be  very  old,  in 
writing  their  memoirs.  I  believe  it  is  a  beautiful  thing 
to  be  able  to  recall,  in  hours  of  wakefulness  and  loneli- 
ness, the  fair  and  flower-bespangled  landscapes  of  our 
past  years.  I  d'o  not  in  the  least  undervalue  such  a 
pleasing  retrospect,  and  I  know  something  of  the  bliss  of 
solitude.  But  we  may  weaken  the  fiber  of  our  minds  by 
indulging  in  too  much  reverie.  Mental  progress  for  me 
lay  in  forgetting  such  things,  and  in  reaching  eagerly 
toward  the  higher  standards  of  literature  and  of  thought. 

"And  surely  all  this  applies  with  added  emphasis  to  the 


324 JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

memory  of  past  sorrows  and  failures  and  disappointments. 
The  Christian  has  no  business  to  unfit  himself  for  the 
duties  which  God  places  upon  him  by  a  perpetual  and 
distrustful  memorj^  of  sorrow.  At  least  semi-forgetful- 
ness  is  the  condition  of  the  Christian's  healthful  life.  God 
certainly  would  not  have  us  become  utterly  unmindful 
of  the  griefs  which  often  make  life  more  sacred  and 
significant,  but  He  would  have  us  rise  above  them,  or 
have  us  carrj-  them  with  us  as  a  sweet  medicine  to  the 
soul,  amid  the  toils  and  victories  of  the  present.  There 
are  some  things  we  cannot  forget  and  would  not  forget 
that  are  numbered  In  the  catalogue  of  sorrows,  but  there 
is  a  divine  way  of  remembering  them,  of  making  them 
sweet  memorials  of  God's  love  and  healing  consolation. 
It  is  our  duty,  so  far  as  we  can,  to  make  memory  a  hive 
of  sweetness  and  not  a  nest  of  hornets."  These  words 
partly  explain  the  lightheartedness  with  which  at  such  a 
crisis  as  was  soon  to  confront  him,  he  could  press  on  into 
untrodden  paths. 

His  sermons  are  usually  the  truest  index  left  us  of  his 
inner  life,  and  in  1895  they  testif\'  to  the  complexities  that 
beset  him,  and  to  his  steady  visions  of  the  life  to  come. 

"Over  against  and  above  this  imperfect  life  of  ours," 
he  said,  "there  is  held  up  before  our  imagination,  a  state 
of  being  where  the  sun  that  we  only  see  in  occasional 
glimpses  Is  the  'light  of  common  day.'  Here,  is  constant 
turmoil,  there,  Is  eternal  peace.  Here,  life  is  like  an 
Alpine  glacier,  plowing  its  way  over  opposing  obstacles, 
gathering  great  rocks  in  its  hands  and  scratching  with 
granite  pen  the  foundations  of  the  mountains.  There,  life 
is  like  the  obedient  stars,  keeping  in  their  eternal  orbits 
and  wheeling  noiseless  in  their  ethereal  grooves." 

Church   problems  were  becoming  difficult.      Hundreds 


END  OF  THE  PASTORATE  325 

of  the  constituents  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  were 
moving  toward  the  southern  suburbs.  To  the  unthink- 
ing this  boded  no  disaster,  as  the  attractive  power  of  its 
preacher  was  sufficient  to  fill  the  church.  Some  of  its 
members  suggested  that  the  church  move  south,  but  their 
advice  received  half-hearted  hearing. 

Partly  as  a  good  preparation  for  the  winter's  duties,  my 
father  accepted  Dr.  Henry  S.  Lunn's  invitation  to  speak 
at  the  Grindelwald  Conference  and  spent  the  last  six 
weeks  of  the  summer  of  1895  abroad.  He  writes  of  this 
European  journey: 

"7  Norham  Gardens,  Oxford, 

"Aug.  14,  1895- 
"My  Dear  Mrs.  Haskell: — I  am  looking  out  on  the 
lovely  lawn  of  Professor  Max  Miiller's  house — where  we 
are  now  entertained  by  two  of  the  most  delightful  people 
that  we  ever  met.  One  of  Professor  Miiller's  questions 
was  this:  'Who  is  that  benevolent  lady  who  has  been 
giving  so  much  ?'  So  you  see  I  had  an  opportunity  to 
speak  of  you  to  this  great  scholar.  He  wears  his  weight 
of  learning  like  a  flower;  he  is  a  good  listener  as  well  as 
a  good  talker,  is  happy  in  his  beautiful  home,  with  a  wife 
who  represents  all  that  is  finest  in  English  womanhood. 
He  has  been  talking  about  Lowell  and  Holmes,  and  other 
Americans  who  have  been  his  guests,  and  especially  about 
Dean  Stanley. 

"I  have  asked  him  to  visit  us  and  address  the  Univer- 
sity, and  also  to  go  next  year  to  India.  He  has  gratefully 
declined.  'I  do  not  need  to  go  to  America,'  he  says,  'for 
America  comes  to  me.  I  do  not  need  to  go  to  India,  for 
India  comes  to  me.     I  am  only  at  home  among  my  books.' 

"He  is  full  of  enthusiasm  for  what  he  regards  as  my 


326  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

'great  work.'  How  little  I  ever  expected  any  such  honors 
as  he  has  given  me.  He  says,  'Why  didn't  you  convince 
me  that  the  Parliament  was  to  be  so  great  an  affair?  I 
would  have  been  there.'  He  gave  all  this  afternoon  to 
showing  us  about  this  wonderful  Oxford.  It  has  been 
our  greatest  day." 

"Grindelwald,  Switzerland, 

"30th  August,  1895. 
"My  Dear  Mrs.  Haskell: 

"I  have  so  much  to  tell  you  which  I  know  will  interest 
you  that  I  hardly  know  where  to  begin.  Dr.  Lunn  has 
kindly  offered  me  the  use  of  his  private  secretary  for  my 
letters.  You  know  how  hard  it  is  for  me  to  write  legibly. 
I  have  met  many  delightful  people  here.  Dr.  Lunn  and 
his  family  have  shown  us  every  kindness,  and  Mrs.  Bar- 
rows has  fallen  in  love  with  this  place,  as  have  also  the 
girls  and  I.  I  can  give  you  no  idea  how  beautiful  it  is 
here. 

"It  was  late  in  the  afternoon  when  we  pulled  into  this 
village.  We  all  said,  as  we  looked  upon  the  mighty 
mountain  walls,  with  their  snow-capped  peaks  flooded, 
over  miles  of  whiteness,  by  the  intense  light  of  the  sunset, 
'This  is  the  climax  of  all  our  journeyings.'  Dr.  Lunn 
welcomed  us  cordially  and  settled  us  at  'The  Bear,'  a 
delightful  hostelry,  in  spite  of  its  name.  In  the  evening 
we  listened  to  an  able  paper  on  'Christianity  and  Social- 
ism,' by  Thomas  M.  Lindsay,  D.  D.,  Professor  of  Church 
History  in  the  Free  Church  College  of  Glasgow,  a  col- 
league of  Dr.  Bruce.  The  address  was  followed  by  a 
discussion.  Archdeacon  Wilson,  of  Manchester,  for 
many  years  Head  Master  of  Science  at  Rugby,  and  an 
eminent  writer  on  some  of  the  moral  problems,  proved  hit 


END  OF  THE  PASTORATE  ^27 

wonderful  intellectual  resources  by  his  remarks.  Reverend 
Charles  A.  Berry,  D.  D.,  of  Wolverhampton,  who  was 
invited  to  succeed  Mr.  Beecher,  is  also  a  fine,  strong 
specimen  of  the  Broad  Evangelical  Englishman,  who  takes 
the  liveliest  interest  in  social  and  political  problems. 

"Day  before  yesterday  we  went  with  Dr.  Lunn,  Dean 
Fremantle,  of  Ripon,  and  Archdeacon  Wilson  to  the 
Lauterbrunnen  Valley.  The  day  was  one  of  a  thousand, 
'cloudless  of  care'  and  cloudless  in  the  sky.  There  I 
realized  anew  that  'the  mountains  and  all  deeps  are  but 
the  raised  letters  of  the  alphabet  of  infinity  by  which  we 
poor,  blind  children  of  men  may  spell  out  the  great  name 
of  God.' 

"But  better  even  than  the  mountain  view  was  the  two 
hours'  walk  which  I  had  with  Dean  Fremantle,  the  author 
of  the  Bampton  Lectures  on  the  'World  as  the  Subject  of 
Redemption,'  a  book  which  will,  I  believe,  be  read  many 
hundred  years  hence.  Bishop  Vincent  once  told  me  that 
these  lectures  had  influenced  his  life  more  than  any  other 
book. 

"The  Dean  is  a  most  charming  companion.  The 
breadth  of  his  sympathies  is  remarkable,  and  proverbial 
English  insularity  finds  no  illustration  in  him.  He  in- 
forms me  that  he  hopes  to  devote  much  of  his  energy  to 
the  work  of  the  reunion  of  Christendom.  I  urged  him  to 
come  to  America  next  spring  in  company  with  Dr.  Lunn 
and  perhaps  he  may. 

"We  returned  a  little  late  for  Mrs.  Lunn's  delightful 
outdoor  tea,  where  we  met  a  company  of  fine-hearted 
Christians.  In  the  evening  I  gave  my  address  on  some 
of  the  lessons  of  the  Parliament,  and  found  sympathetic 
hearer? 

"Yesterday  morning  the  mountain  train  lifted  us  sev- 


328  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

eral  thousand  feet  to  the  Scheideck,  and  a  twenty  minutes' 
walk  brought  us  to  the  edge  of  the  great  Eiger  glacier, 
where  there  is  one  of  the  finest  views  in  Europe.  Dr. 
Lunn  gave  us  a  very  interesting  lecture  on  glaciers,  and 
-wt  felt  that  he  warmed  a  cold  subject  with  his  own 
glowing  eloquence.  At  the  close  of  the  talk  we  all  sprang 
to  our  feet  startled  by  the  roar,  like  that  of  a  distant 
battle-field.  A  mile  or  more  away  an  avalanche,  probably 
a  hundred  feet  in  breadth,  poured  down  the  mountain 
side  its  thousands  of  tons  of  ice  in  a  beautiful  cascade, 
which  lasted  more  than  a  minute.  My  dear  children 
were  aglow  with  enthusiasm. 

"And  now  I  have  great  news  to  tell  you.  Our  party 
has  divided.  Four  have  gone  to  Paris,  and  Mrs.  Bar- 
rows, the  two  girls,  and  I  leave  this  evening  for  Gottin- 
gen,  Germany,  where  it  is  very  likely  we  shall  leave  the 
girls  for  the  year.  I  have  many  things  to  tell  you.  I 
feel  that  the  coming  to  this  place  has  been  one  of  the 
great  experiences  in  my  life." 

He  wrote  from  Paris  the  first  week  of  September: 
"One  of  the  most  delightful  experiences  which  I  have 
had  here  was  a  call  from  Pere  Hyacinthe,  who  is  cer- 
tainly one  of  the  most  impressive  orators  of  the  nine- 
teenth centurj',  and  one  of  the  greatest-hearted  men  that 
I  ever  met.  He  was  determined  that  I  should  remain 
a  month  in  Paris,  being  sure  that  I  could  influence  even 
the  bigoted  French  ecclesiastics,  who  were  out  of  sym- 
pathy with  their  American  Catholic  brethren.  He  said, 
'You  have  no  idea  what  a  revolution  in  the  Catholic 
Church  you  inaugurated,  when  you  induced  the  Catholic 
scholars  to  confer  and  pray  with  heretics  and  schismatics.' 
He  spoke  enthusiastically  of  the  Congress  in  Chicago  as 
the  first  ecumenical  council  that  ever  was  called. 


END  OF  THE  PASTORATE  329 

"I  have  also  had  a  delightful  call  from  Abbe  Char- 
bonnel,  whose  article  in  the  'Revue  de  Paris'  on  the  Paris 
Congress  of  1900  is  making  such  a  stir;  from 
Zadoc  Kahn,  the  chief  Rabbi  of  France;  from  Auguste 
Sabatier,  editor  of  'Le  Temps'  and  Professor  in  the 
University  of  Paris,  and  from  Professor  Bonet-Maury, 
who  also  strongly  urged  me  to  remain  in  the  city;  but  I 
could  not,  even  though  a  reception  by  the  French  Academy 
was  promised  me."     Shortly  after  this  he  sailed  for  home. 

Throughout  the  fall  he  wrote  almost  daily  to  my  sis- 
ter and  me  in  Germany. 

"Oct.  9th,  1895. 

"Last  evening  I  was  inaugurated  the  president  of  the 
Literary  Club.  We  had  a  fine  banquet  and  a  larger 
number  present  than  usual.  I  gave  an  address  of  forty 
minutes  on  'Musings  in  My  Library.'  I  said  in  closing, 
*I  need  not  say,  but  I  am  going  to  say  most  emphatically, 
that  the  honor  which  you  have  conferred  upon  me  is  un- 
deserved. I  receive  it  partly  as  a  gracious  and  tender 
suggestion  that  I  have  not  attended  the  meetings  of  the 
club  faithfully,  and  that  I  am  expected  henceforth  to  be 
with  you.  I  only  fear  that,  after  this  precedent,  other 
members  will  expect,  by  diligently  absenting  themselves, 
to  be  crowned  with  the  presidential  laurel.  However 
that  may  be,  I  appreciate  your  kindness  toward  me  and 
express  my  hearty  gratitude.  If  I  were  less  of  an  Amer- 
ican and  more  English,  I  might  say,  'thanks  awfully.'  A 
few  years  ago,  when  visiting  the  French  market  in  New 
Orleans  early  one  morning  I  saw  a  blind  beggar  who 
also  saw  me.  This  mendicant  had  a  dog  who  carried  in 
his  mouth  a  tin  pail,  into  which  the  benevolent  cast  their 
copper  and  peradventure  their  silver.  I  threw  in  a  nickel, 
and  at  that  moment  it  was  the  dog's  business  to  hold  out 


330  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

his  paw,  and  to  bow  his  thanks.  He  did  not  perform  his 
full  duty  to  me,  and  the  blind  beggar  saw  it  and  cuffing 
the  cur  reprovingly,  he  said :  'Dog  not  good  enough  for 
such  kind  people.'  This  is  one  of  the  occasions  in  my 
life  when  I  feel  like  that  dog." 

"Oct.  24th,  1895- 
"Yesterday  morning  Professor  Bonet-Maury's  book  on 
'The  Congress  of  Religions  at  Chicago,'  a  beautiful  little 
volume  of  three  hundred  and  forty-five  pages,  came  to 
hand.  It  has  fourteen  excellent  portraits.  It  is  published 
by  Hachette,  the  great  Paris  publisher,  and  is  a  thorough, 
careful,  and  scholarly  work.  I  am  very  proud  of  it.  I 
will  ask  him  to  send  a  copy  of  it  to  you.  What  he  says 
about  your  father  will  make  your  hair  stand  on  end.  I 
read  this  morning  at  the  breakfast  table  to  Mrs.  Haskell 
two  pages  which  he  devoted  to  her  in  the  conclusion  of  the 
book.  She  was  very  much  gratified.  Last  night  I  had  a 
meeting  of  the  Session  and  read  to  them  a  letter  explain- 
ing the  India  project  and  asking  for  a  leave  of  absence 
from  December,  1896,  to  May,  1897.  The  matter  is  of 
such  importance  that  they  have  called  a  meeting  of  all 
the  officers  of  the  church  for  Saturday  of  this  week  to  talk 
it  over. 

"Did  you  ever  hear  the  story  about  Abraham  Lincoln 
which  Mr.  Bartlett  told  at  the  Literary  Club?  Two 
artists  were  debating  in  Mr.  Lincoln's  presence  as  to  the 
proper  proportions  of  the  human  body,  especially  the 
legs,  and  were  questioning  whether  the  legs  of  a  certain 
statue  were  of  the  right  length.  They  referred  the  case 
to  Mr.  Lincoln,  and  he  modestly  replied  that  he  was  nOt 
an  authority  upon  the  subject,  but  he  said,  'I  have  always 
had  the  feeling  that  a  man's  legs  should  be  just  long 


END  OF  THE  PASTORATE 331 

enough  to  reach  from  his  body  to  the  ground.'  See  if  you 
can  tell  that  story  to  the  Fraulein  in  German!  Good- 
bye.    I  am  so  eager  to  see  you  that  I  think  of  resigning!" 

"Oct.  25th. 

"Yesterday  at  dinner  Mr.  B.  told  me  a  story  of  his 
going  to  a  side-show  where  a  snake  was  to  be  seen ;  and 
the  man  at  the  tent  door  kept  calling  out  in  these  words : 
'Come  up,  roll  up,  jump  up,  tumble  up,  any  way  to  get 
up,  ladies,  gentlemen  and  small  children ;  come  and  see 
the  snake!  It  was  caught  in  the  wilds  of  Africa  at  the 
cost  of  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  in  gold  by  a  band 
of  fearless  men !  It  measures  fourteen  feet  from  his  nose 
to  the  tip  of  his  tail,  and  also  fourteen  feet  from  the  tip 
of  his  tail  to  his  nose,  making  twenty-eight  feet  in  all! 
Come  right  up!'  " 

"Nov.   2nd,   1895. 

"I  rather  expect  to  give  my  second  course  of  Haskell 
Lectures  in  January  and  February.  I  think  that  my 
themes  will  be  about  as  follows:  'Christianity  and  Hin- 
duism,' 'Christianity  and  Buddhism,'  'Christianity  and 
Confucianism,'  'Christianity  and  Mohammedanism,' 
'Christianity  and  Judaism,'  and  then  a  sixth  and  final  lec- 
ture indicating  the  proper  mode  for  Christianity  to  reach 
these  dififerent  faiths." 

"Nov.  5th,  1895. 
"Last  evening  we  took  dinner  with  Mrs.  Haskell  at 
the  hotel  and  President  Harper  came  in  for  a  little  while. 
After  dinner  I  went  to  the  Literary  Club,  where  we  had 
a  delightful  paper  called  'Yarns  of  an  Old  Town.'  It 
was  an  account  of  Newburyport,  Massachusetts,  and  was 
filled  with  most  interesting  references  to  times  old  and 
new.     The  reader,  a  Mr.  Stone,  who  is  Secretary  of  the 


332  JOHN  HENRY   BARROWS 

Board  of  Trade,  said  that  it  was  said  of  a  certain  man  of 
Newburyport,  'He  was  so  very  wealthy  that  his  opinions 
did  not  need  the  support  of  argument.'  Is  not  that  de- 
licious ? 

"We  were  all  very  much  shocked  yesterday  by  the 
sudden  death  of  Eugene  Field.  He  was  found  dead  in 
his  bed  yesterday  morning." 

"Nov.  7th,   1895. 

"Tuesday  night  there  was  a  big  celebration  at  the 
University  of  Mr.  Rockefeller's  three  million  dollar  gift, 
which  means  five  millions  added  to  the  University.  The 
'Interior'  finally  hauls  in  its  horns.  It  has  been  critical 
of  Dr.  Harper  and  the  University,  but  now  it  says  that 
Rockefeller's  gift  means  that  we  are  to  have  here  the 
greatest  University  in  America.  Hooray!  The  students 
and  professors  went  wild  Tuesday  night.  They  had  cal- 
cium lights  on  the  grounds,  processions,  fish  horns,  and 
speeches.  One  of  the  best  was  made  by  Professor  Von 
Hoist." 

"Nov.  14th,   1895. 

"Lorado  Taft,  the  sculptor,  has  been  trying  for  a  long 
while  to  get  me  to  sit  for  him,  and  Tuesday  afternoon 
I  went  down  to  his  studio  in  the  Athenaeum  and  mounted 
the  model's  chair.  He  had  a  big  pile  of  clay  on  the  table 
in  front  of  him  and  a  standard  made  of  lead  pipe  and 
lumber  as  a  sort  of  frame  for  the  structure.  He  said  the 
lumber  would  help  when  he  came  to  the  lumbar  regions. 
He  is  wonderfully  quick  and  skilful.  He  put  a  head  on 
the  thing  before  many  minutes  and  took  a  few  measure- 
ments and  got  an  outline  of  the  features  in  an  hour  and 
a  half,  and  had  shaped  the  thing  so  deftly  that  I  was 
recognizable  to  the  people  who  came  in.     I  hope  to  go 


END  OF  THE  PASTORATE  335 

again  to-day.  In  a  half  dozen  sittings  he  will  probably 
do  me  in  clay." 

While  he  was  writing  these  November  letters  the  offi- 
cial boards  of  his  church  had  considered  his  India  plan. 
No  formal  action  concerning  it  was  taken,  but  in  the 
opinion  of  the  majority  his  proposed  absence  did  not  ac- 
cord with  the  best  interests  of  the  church.  To  him, 
however,  the  Barrows  lectureship  seemed  something  too 
important  to  lay  aside.     He  wrote  at  this  time : 

"I  have  a  deep  and  invincible  feeling  that  God  has 
given  me  a  mission  of  preaching  Christ,  not  only  here  but 
in  Asia,  and  it  is  the  larger  Christ  that  I  want  to  preach, 
not  the  Christ  who  cares  only  for  Christian  Europe  and 
Christian  America,  not  a  Christ  who  has  forgotten  and 
forsaken  Asia  and  Africa,  but  the  Christ  whose  light  has 
illumined  in  some  measure  all  hearts." 

Therefore,  three  weeks  after  the  meeting  of  his  officers, 
he  courageously  cut  himself  off  from  his  chief  source  of 
income  and  from  work  and  friends  most  dear  to  him. 
Surely  he  belonged — to  quote  his  own  words — to  "the 
army  of  the  Lord  which  stands  with  faces  fronting  the 
dawn,  holding  in  their  hands  the  'white  shields  of  ex- 
pectation.' " 

His  people  received  his  resignation  with  surprise  and 
sorrow.  Many  entreated  him  to  recall  it.  Few  men 
have  been  the  recipients  of  such  admiring  and  grateful 
love.  The  official  minute  of  the  Presbytery  expressed 
"affectionate  appreciation  of  his  signal  ability  and  broad 
culture,  his  unfailing  refinement  and  courtesy,  his  strong 
and  gentle  Christian  character,  his  large  public  spirit  and 
wide  sympathies  with  men,  and  his  fidelity  as  a  preacher 
of  the  Gospel  of  Christ,"  and  he  was  "reluctantly  re- 
leased,  in  deference  to  his  own  constraining  conviction 


334  JOHN  HENRY   BARROWS 


that  he  had  been  providentially  called  to  establish  the 
lectureship  that  bears  his  name,  in  the  great  cities  of 
India." 

Something  of  the  pleasure  given  him  by  these  as- 
surances of  affection  show  in  his  letters: 

"Nov.  2jtn,  1895. 

"You  will  receive  with  this  letter  papers  giving  an  ac- 
count of  my  resignation  and  I  think  you  will  feel  a  good 
deal  happier  than  some  of  our  people  do.  I  look  upon  it 
all  as  providential.  I  have  been  evidently  called  to  the 
wider  field  and  I  feel  very  restful  in  my  own  heart.  It 
was  a  rather  painful  scene  at  the  close  of  my  sermon 
yesterday  morning  when  I  read  my  letter  of  resignation. 
It  came  as  a  thunderbolt  to  almost  all  of  the  congrega- 
tion. I  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  people  can  keep 
a  secret.  Men  and  women  both.  So  far  as  I  know  only 
one,  and  he  was  a  minister,  leaked,  and  he  leaked  just  a 
little!  The  enthusiasm  and  devotion  of  people  make 
us  very  happy  and  yet  mingled  with  it  is  deep  sorrow  in 
leaving  such  splendid  friends. 

"The  newspapers  have  been  very  friendly.  Six  of  the 
leading  ones  have  editorials  which  give  me  a  new  feeling 
of  the  hold  we  have  on  this  big  city.  But  our  chief 
feelings,  excepting  sorrow  in  leaving  our  dear  friends 
here,  are  of  prospective  relief  from  the  stress  of  work 
and  of  rejoicing  that,  God  willing,  we  will  soon  be  re- 
united, I  wish  I  could  tell  you  how  good  our  people 
are  to  us,  but  you  can  imagine. 

"I  just  had  a  letter  from  Dr.  Schaff,  the  son  of  the 
great  Dr.  Schal?.  He  is  writing  his  father's  biography 
and  shortly  before  reading  the  story  of  my  resignation 
and  my  going  to  Gottingen,  he  was  telling  of  his  father's 


END  OF  THE  PASTORATE 335 

visit  to  Gottingcn  in  1888,  where  he  saw  Ritschl  and 
other  famous  professors.  Two  weeks  ago  I  resigned  my 
membership  in  the  Quadrangle  Club  of  the  University, 
not  feeling  rich  enough  to  pay  for  a  club  that  I  could  not 
attend.  I  received  a  letter  from  Professor  Matthews 
which  contains  an  expression  which  you  both  will  enjoy. 
*We  shall  miss  3'our  spirit  even  more  than  your  bodily 
presence,  but  wait  till  you  see  the  new  club  house,  then,  as 
Chimmie  Fadden  would  say,  "You  will  chase  yourself 
in."  • 

"Tomorrow  is  Thanksgiving  and  we  shall  miss  you 
awfully.  A.  had  his  choice  between  going  to  hear  me 
preach  at  the  union  services  at  eleven  o'clock  and  going 
to  the  football  game.  You  will  be  greatly  surprised  that 
he  chose  the  football.  He  says  confidentially,  that  I 
would  rather  go  to  the  game  than  preach!  It  is  a  pity 
that  children  know  your  weaknesses  so  thoroughly!" 

"Dec.  5th,  1895. 
"Our  life  is  quieting  down  beautifully.  By  making  it 
plain  from  the  beginning  that  my  resignation  was  final 
and  absolute,  I  secured  a  unanimous  acceptance  from 
Session,  Society,  and  Presbyterj'.  Monday  morning  I 
read  my  letter  before  the  Presbytery.  I  shall  never  for- 
get the  beautiful  tributes  which  were  heaped  upon  my 
head.  Dr.  McPherson  spoke  nearly  half  an  hour,  most 
tenderly  and  happily.  Among  other  things  he  mentioned 
the  perfect  good  understanding  and  fraternal  relations 
between  the  two  pastors  of  the  First  and  Second  Churches. 
He  said  that  the  honor  and  good  name  of  the  Second 
Church  had  always  been  as  safe  in  my  hands  as  in  his 
own.  He  commended  the  mission  I  was  undertaking 
abroad,  and  spoke  wittily  of  my  growing  physical  powers. 


336  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

He  said  that  when  I  was  eighty  years  old  I  would  proba- 
bly make  a  good  center  rush  for  a  football  team  and  that 
I  would  probably  preach  till  I  was  ninety-three.  Dr. 
Withrow  poured  out  his  heart,  too,  saying,  among  other 
things,  that  'The  going  away  of  the  pastor  of  the  First 
Church  will  leave  a  vast  vacant  space  in  Chicago.' 
Then  Dr.  Hall  spcke  in  a  similar  vein.  Dr.  Hillis  said, 
'This  is  no  funeral.  Dr.  Barrows  has  been  called  to  a 
wider  field,  and  he  is  the  first  m.an  ever  going  to  India 
who  is  simply  a  representative  of  Christianity  and  not  of 
a  sect  or  of  a  board.'  He  believed  that  'Dr.  Barrows 
was  the  best  known  minister  among  foreign  people  in 
America,  and  that  no  such  opportunity  was  ever  before 
given  to  anybody.'  It  would  have  done  your  heart  good 
to  have  heard  their  beautiful  tributes  and  it  certainly  did 
my  heart  good.  Not  that  I  feel  worthy  of  them,  but  this 
love  and  commendation  are  among  the  best  rewards  for 
what  I  have  tried  to  do.  Dr.  Hillis  is  arranging  to  have 
the  trustees  of  the  Central  Church  give  me  a  reception 
and  recognition  service  at  Central  Music  Hall  Sunday 
evening,  February  9th,  at  which  addresses  will  be  made 
by  Lyman  Gage,  representing  the  World's  Fair;  Dr. 
Harper,  representing  the  University;  Dr.  Gunsaulus,  the 
Congregationalists;  Dr.  McPherson,  the  Presbyterians; 
Dr.  Bristol,  the  Methodists;  Mrs.  Potter  Palmer,  the 
World's  Congress  Auxiliary;  Mrs.  Greenleaf,  the  public 
schools,  and  Bishop  Fallows,  the  soldiers  and  the  Chris- 
tian Endeavor  Society.  Isn't  this  a  lovely  thing  for  him 
to  do? 

"I  have  just  had  a  caller, — a  bronze  manufacturer, 
who  is  arranging  with  Mr.  Mulligan,  an  artist  in  Mr. 
Taft's  studio,  to  make  a  life-sized  bronze  bas-relief  of 
your  paternal  sire.     I  have  given  my  reluctant  consent. 


END  OF  THE  PASTORATE 337 

This  afternoon  I  am  going  down  to  have  a  portrait  made. 
All  this  attention  to  one's  personality  is  as  good  as  dying 
and  reading  the  obituaries. 

"We  feel  that  we  have  so  many  anchors  in  Chicago 
that  we  shall  be  glad  if  our  future  life  is  here." 

"Dec.  9th,  1895. 

"If  you  were  here  or  we  were  there,  we  could  tell  you 
some  things  that  would  make  you  laugh  and  cry.  I  never 
realized  before,  except  after  Manning's  death,  how  good 
people  are  to  us. 

"You  speak  of  the  sorrow  of  leaving  Chicago,  this 
great  city.  Everybody  who  speaks  of  my  going  away, 
prophesies  that  I  will  return. 

"Did  I  write  you  that  I  have  been  engaged  by  'The 
Record'  to  furnish  letters  during  all  my  absence  in  Eu- 
rope and  Asia?  I  shall  want  you  girls  to  find  out  all 
the  interesting  and  funny  things  which  I  can  utilize  in 
my  weekly  scribblings.  Perhaps  I  shall  become  famous 
as  a  correspondent!  But  O,  how  I  shall  miss  my  type- 
writer, by  which  I  do  not  mean  the  machine.  You  may 
care  to  know  that  'The  Outlook'  speaks  of  my  resignation 
as  an  event  of  national  importance  and  prophesies  the 
absorption  of  the  First  Church  with  the  Second.  Isn't 
that  funny?     Nobody  ever  thinks  of  that. 

"Good-bye.  I  haven't  time  to  write  at  the  close  of 
this  letter  one  of  those  involved  and  fire-darting  sentences 
by  which — as  by  a  flaming  bolt  out  of  the  empyrean — I 
sometimes,  though  alas!  inadequately,  flash  into  your  girl- 
ish, though  by  no  means  juvenile,  souls  some  beam  of  that 
inextinguishable  paternal  affection  which  consumes  the 
heart  of  your  far  away  sire.     Therefore  I  shall  omit  it.' 


338  JOHN  HENRY   BARROWS 

"Dec.    1 6th,    1895. 

"Yesterday  was  a  great  day  in  our  church.  Dr.  Clark 
of  the  Christian  Endeavor  Society  was  in  town  and  spoke 
beautifully  before  my  sermon.  Mr.  Francis  Murphy,  the 
great  temperance  apostle,  was  also  on  the  platform  and 
said  a  few  words. 

"Saturday  night  I  gave  my  European  lecture  at  the 
Home  for  the  Incurables.  Chicago's  University  received 
another  million  and  a  quarter  last  week.  Miss  Culver, 
a  niece  of  Mr.  Hull,  for  whom  the  Hull  House  was 
named,  gave  a  million  dollars  for  the  department  of  biol- 
ogy. There  will  be  a  great  building  for  the  biological 
department  of  the  University,  a  biological  station,  fully 
equipped  for  inland  work  at  Lake  Geneva,  a  marine  bio- 
logical department  at  Woods  Hole,  and  several  biological 
lectureships.  Isn't  this  immense?  Of  course,  now  Mr, 
Rockefeller  has  to  hand  out  another  million,  according 
to  his  promise.     Isn't  this  glorious? 

"All  the  trustees  of  the  United  Society  whom  I  met 
in  Detroit  approved  of  my  decision  and  feel  that  I  am 
entering  upon  a  larger  work.  Dr.  Clark  is  very  happy 
over  it.  I  value  the  fellowship  of  the  Christian  Endeavor 
trustees  more  I  think  than  any  Christian  fellowship  that 
has  ever  come  to  me.  They  are  the  noblest  company  of 
men  that  I  ever  knew,  representing  all  the  different 
evangelical  denominations." 

"Dec.  24th,   1895. 

"Monday  morning  I  left  for  Cleveland ;  arrived  there 
about  six  o'clock  in  the  evening;  was  met  at  the  station 
and  taken  to  the  Hollenden  House.  The  Congregational 
Club  gave  me  a  lovely  reception  before  the  supper.  I 
met  President  Thwing  of  Adelbert  College,  President 
Ballantine  of  Oberlin  and  many  other  fine  people.     The 


END  OF  THE  PASTORATE  339 

beautiful  dining-hall  was  filled  with  two  hundred  and 
fifty  guests  and  I  had  the  whole  evening  to  myself  after 
supper,  giving  them  my  lecture  on  Samuel  Adams.  We 
had  a  supper  of  eight  courses  and  I  began  by  saying  I 
felt  like  Martin  Luther  at  the  Diet  of  Worms  when 
he  said,  'God  help  me  I  can  take  no  other  course.' 

"President  Francis  E.  Clark  told  me  that  the  United 
Society  of  Christian  Endeavor  had  a  little  money  left  over 
after  paying  the  expenses  of  the  Boston  Convention  last 
summer,  I  think  he  said  about  two  hundred  dollars,  and 
they  are  thinking  of  placing  a  stone  over  the  grave  of 
Samuel  Adams  in  the  Granary  Hill  Burying  Ground ; 
(ft  Is  not  marked  by  any  monument,  strange  to  say) 
and  they  think  of  placing  on  the  stone  a  sentence  from 
my  lecture.  I  deem  this  a  great  honor." 
■  During  January  and  February  he  gave  his  second  course 
of  Haskell  lectures  on  the  relations  of  Christianity  to 
each  of  the  other  great  religions.  Although  his  letters 
refer  to  these  lectures  as  "hasty  pudding  served  up  hot" 
and  he  laments  their  inadequacy — they  were  enthusiasti- 
cally welcomed.  What  with  the  lectures,  dinner  en- 
gagements almost  every  evening,  and  all  the  extras  attend- 
ant upon  finishing  his  church  work,  these  were  busy 
months.     One  of  his  letters  refers  to  two  farewells. 

'Chicago,  Feb.  nth,  1896. 
"I  have  sent  you  papers  giving  an  account  of  the  fare- 
well reception  at  Central  Music  Hall  last  Sunday  night. 
It  was  really  a  magnificent  afifair,  but  I  felt  that  they 
were  talking  about  some  other  fellow.  I  am  in  the  fare- 
well business  at  present.  Last  night  I  gave  my  farewell 
to  the  Chicago  Literary  Club,  and  four  of  the  ex-PresI- 
dents  made  kind  addresses  at  the  close  of  my  paper.     Some 


340  JOHN  HENRY   BARROWS 

of  them  thought  I  might  be  eaten  by  the  cannibals.  One 
of  them  told  of  a  picture  of  a  cannibal  who  had  caught  a 
missionary  and  tied  him  to  a  tree  and  was  anxiously  turn- 
ing over  the  leaves  of  a  cook  book  to  see  in  what  style 
he  would  serve  him.  There  was  so  much  anxiety  on  the 
cannibal's  face  that  you  had  more  sympathy  for  him  than 
for  the  missionary.  One  of  the  speakers  thought  I  might 
return  from  the  East  dressed  in  a  yellow  robe  with  the 
Koran  under  one  arm  and  the  Rig  Veda  under  the  other, 
henceforth  to  be  a  preacher  of  the  Oriental  faiths.  When 
I  had  a  chance  to  reply,  I  said  about  this :  I  thank  you 
most  heartily,  dear  friends,  for  all  these  words  of  kindness. 
I  am  sorry  that  you  feel  skeptical  about  my  continuing 
in  the  faith.  Bishop  Arnett  of  the  African  Methodists 
feels  differently.  He  took  luncheon  with  me  on  Sat- 
urday and  said  that  when  I  returned  from  the  journey 
round  the  world,  they  were  going  to  make  me  a  Bishop 
of  the  African  Methodist  Church.  But,  friends,  the  best 
thing  I  can  do  now  is  to  invite  you  to  a  banquet  which 
I  have  had  prepared  in  the  next  room.  (We  always  have 
a  lunch  of  crackers  and  ginger  beer  provided.)  As  I  feel 
very  hungry  and  as  I  recall  what  Mr.  Mason  has  said 
about  the  cannibals,  I  must  say,  in  the  words  of  Thomas 
Hood,  *I  would  rather  die  eating,  than  diet.'  " 

The  way  in  which  he  regarded  all  this  work  and  suc- 
cess is  shown  in  his  latest  Chicago  sermons. 

"We  are,"  he  wrote,  "all  the  while  over-rating  our 
direct  influence.  We  sometimes  are  discouraged  unduly 
because  we  are  not  working  as  actively  or  as  widely  in 
public  ways  as  we  would  and  we  care  far  too  little  for  the 
spirit  in  which  our  limited  activities  are  carried  on.  Some 
of  us  have  never  learned  that  our  indirect  influence  is 
always  a  greater  force  for  good  than  our  direct,  inten- 


END  OF  THE  PASTORATE 341 

tional,  and  aggressive  activities  in  right  ways.  After  the 
Day  of  Pentecost  Peter  was  so  surcharged  with  the  Holy 
Ghost  that,  walking  the  streets  of  Jerusalem,  his  very 
shadow  falling  on  the  sick  and  paralytic  gave  them  heal- 
ing and  strength.  Many  modern  Christians  are  like  the 
child's  toy  engine,  very  busy  and  stirring  in  mind  and 
body,  puff,  puff,  whirling  about,  tipping  over  once  in  a 
while,  and  then  soon  exhausting  the  steam.  They  have 
not  that  quiet  and  continuous  strength  which  has  been 
fed  and  nourished  through  the  culture  of  the  soul  in 
hours  of  quiet  meditation  and  communion." 

On  Sunday,  February  16,  he  said  good-bye  amid  the 
tears  of  his  people,  yet  his  love  and  service  and  their 
loyal  response  had  bound  him  to  them  with  a  bond  far 
stronger  than  any  official  connection,  and  one  that  could 
never  be  severed.  As  we  pause  a  moment  in  the  gracious 
influences  that  he  had  shed  during  these  more  than  fourteen 
years,  we  recall  first  of  all  the  largeness  of  his  heart.  It 
may  be  that  it  warmed  quickest  to  spontaneous,  expressive, 
struggling  people,  and  slowest  to  cynics  and  dilettanti, 
but  it  could  hold  every  one  who  needed  help,  whatever 
his  temperament  or  worth.  It  was  loving  imagination 
that  disclosed  to  him  men's  natures.  Indifferentism  and 
intellectual  posing  he  found  to  be  faults  of  the  fastidious 
few.  Prejudice,  mean  ideals,  and  meager  outlook  were 
commoner  defects  of  character.  Hence  his  hopes  for  a 
Parliament  of  Religions.  Born  of  the  heart,  too,  was 
his  faith  in  men,  which  saved  him  from  talking  down  to 
them,  awoke  his  eagerness  to  meet  their  real  needs,  and, 
destroying  false  pride,  made  him  willing  to  be  popular. 

We  recall,  too,  his  fearlessness  with  which  he  entered 
into  wide  and  so-called  worldly  activities,  and  the  spirit 
with  which  he  beautified  and  hallowed  them.     And  per- 


342  JOHX  HENRY  BARROWS 

haps  we  may  best  close  this  chapter  in  his  life  with  his 
creed  that  Christianitj^  should  not  cramp  but  enlarge 
and  sanctify  experience  and  his  sense  of  the  obstacles  in 
the  way  of  this  ideal : 

"I  know  there  are  perils  grave  and  sometimes  fatal 
which  come  from  the  teaching  that  we  are  to  enter  in  the 
spirit  of  Christ  into  all  the  occupations  and  rightful  en- 
joyments of  life.  It  is  hard  to  do  it;  it  is  much  easier 
to  run  away,  and  to  be  Christians  in  a  little  round  of 
prescribed  duty.  Some  people  haven't  Christianity 
enough  when  spread  out,  to  cover  the  whole  domain  of 
activity  and  pleasure.  If  you  find  it  impossible  to  main- 
tain the  spirit  of  Christ  in  such  a  life  as  yours  has  become, 
by  all  means  narrow  it,  cut  off  here  and  there,  surrender 
that  which  is  letting  the  life-blood  out  of  your  soul  and 
paganizing  your  spirit.  But  after  all,  the  highest  ideal 
is  that  which  Jesus  illustrated  and  which  John  the  Bap- 
tist did  not.  And  you  will  need  to  spend  nights  in  prayer 
as  well  as  days  at  the  marriage  feast.  You  will  need  to 
fill  your  soul  with  the  heavenly  life  if  you  are  to  refresh 
the  manifold  paths  of  earth." 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

A  WORLD  PILGRIMAGE    1 896 

"I  have  already,  three  different  times,  peeped  into  the 
life  of  the  Fatherland.  But  now  for  the  first  time,  I 
live  among  German  people,  sharing  their  daily  life,  eat- 
ing of  their  abundant  food,  sleeping  under  their  moun- 
tainous feather  beds,  and  hearing  from  morning  till  night 
the  musical  bubble  and  sputter  of  their  strong,  queer, 
exuberant  speech."  So  wrote  my  father  from  Gottingen, 
his  headquarters  from  March  until  October,  1896.  This 
placid  Hanoverian  town,  unexcited  save  over  Roentgen's 
discovery,  saw  him  studying  German,  hearing  lectures  by 
Schultz  and  Wellhausen,  sending  long  letters  to  the  Chi- 
cago "Record"  and  "Interior"  and  rewriting  his  India 
addresses.  He  found  this  "home  of  quietness  in  the  heart 
of  old  Germany  far  from  stupid"  because  it  discovered  to 
him  "an  undreamed  of  relish  for  rest  and  retirement." 
He  delighted  in  the  "gardens  golden  with  crocuses  and 
blue  with  hepaticas"  and  in  the  Gottingen  rampart  "now 
tamed  to  a  lovers'  walk,  beneath  whose  magnificent  trees 
we  follow  a  path  which  not  only  encompasses  the  city 
but  leads  out  into  dreamland."  Here — to  quote  still 
further  his  own  words,  he  "felt  deeply  the  presence  of 
those  spiritual  guests  who  throng  and  dignify  so  many 
parts  of  the  old  world" — and  loved  to  recall  that  "beneath 
these  shades,  incredible  as  it  may  seem,  Schopenhauer 
brooded  his  pessimism  and  Lotze  meditated  his  deeper  and 
truer  thoughts."  Heine  and  Longfellow,  Bancroft  and 
Everett,   Bismarck   and   Motley   Mere   among   the  spirits 


344  JOHN  HENRY   BARROWS 

of  the  wall  with  whom  he  had  converse,  and  he  wrote 
of  Coleridge:  "How  often  he  must  have  mused  and 
spun  out  his  endless  speculations  as  he  made  the  circuit 
of  the  town  on  this  rampart.  Few  poets  have  given 
us  intenser  pleasure  than  this  man,  who  was  able  to  write 
a  few  perfect  things.  I  have  already  met  him  in  the 
vale  of  Chamouni  and  seen  the  sunrise  over  Mount  Blanc 
through  his  illumined  and  reverent  vision.  Every  voy- 
ager who  knows  'The  Ancient  Mariner'  meets  him  on 
the  sea  and  now  and  then  in  some  highland  nook  by  some 
tiny  cascade  the  traveler  repeats  after  him: 

'Beneath  yon  birch  with  silver  bark 

And  boughs  so  pendulous  and   fair, 

The  brook  falls  scattered   down   the   rock 
And  all  is  mossy  there.'  " 

In  April  this  leisure  for  meditation  was  broken.  At 
the  request  of  the  committee  organizing  a  religious  con- 
gress to  be  held  in  1900,  he  went  to  Paris  to  speak  on 
"La  Religion  et  la  Fraternite  humaine"  before  a  con- 
ference presided  over  by  M.  Anatole  Leroy-Beaulieu. 
His  letters  to  my  mother  chronicle  the  events  of  his  pleas- 
ant month  spent  with  his  friend  Professor  Bonet-Maury, 
one  of  the  Protestant  faculty  of  the  University  of  Paris. 

"81  rue  de  Lille,  Paris,  April  16,  1896. 

"It  is  twenty- two  years  next  month  since  I  wrote  you 
my  last  letter  from  Paris.  It  seems  like  the  good  old 
times  to  be  writing  you  of  my  doings  in  this  illustre  cap- 
ital d'une  nation  a  laquelle  le  Republique  Americaine  doit 
tant  de  reconnaissance,  (if  you  will  permit  me  to  quote 
from  my  maiden  French  harangue).  Well — I  love  Paris 
■ — and  so  do  you. 

"Traveling   through   Belgium    I    felt   happier   than    in 


A  WORLD  PILGRIMAGE  34S 

the  Fatherland — because  I  am  even  more  perfectly  master 
of  French  than  of  German !  and  secondly,  because  one 
has  more  liberty.  For  example,  it  was  not  illegal  for  me 
to  take  the  long,  yellow  skin  of  the  orange  I  had  eaten 
and  throw  it  from  the  window  upon  the  ground  that 
once  grew  cabbages  for  the  imperial  table  of  Charlemagne. 
My  wonderful  knowledge  of  three  languages  has  given 
me  much  comfort.  It  is  so  nice — when  a  waiter  says  to 
you  'Reisen  Sie  abf  not  to  look  like  a  fool,  and  when  you 
put  the  question  'Wie  heisst  diese  Stadtf  to  be  able  to 
understand  the  answer." 

"81  rue  de  Lille,  Paris,  April  19,  1896. 

"One  hundred  and  twenty-one  years  ago  to-day  a  shot 
was  fired  that  was  heard  around  the  world.  Now  shots 
are  fired  every  week  that  perform  the  circuit  of  the  globe. 
Yesterday  morning  we  took  a  cab  and  called  on  Baron 
Schickler,  one  of  the  members  of  the  Organizing  Com- 
mittee. He  is  the  foremost  Protestant  of  France — very 
liberal,  though  orthodox,  very  rich  and  benevolent  and 
cultivated.  He  has  a  magnificent  house  on  the  Place 
Vendome.  In  the  afternoon  we  called  on  the  Vicomtc 
de  Meaux — a  splendid  Catholic  gentleman,  a  friend  of 
Archbishop  Ireland  and  son-in-law  of  the  great  Count 
Montalembert.  We  had  much  pleasant  talk.  Then  I 
came  home  to  sleep.  After  more  study  of  the  'oration,' 
I  dressed  for  the  Sorbonne  dinner  given  by  the  professors 
here  to  delegates  from  the  universities  of  Scotland.  With 
his  unfailing  French  politeness  Professor  Bonet-Maury 
said,  'You  are  radiant  as  the  sun.' 

"I  can  give  you  no  idea  of  the  Banquet.  To  hear  the 
octogenarian  Jules  Simon  was  an  event.  His  political 
history  dates  back  to  '48.     He  has  been  Prime  Minister 


346  JOHN  HENRY   BARROWS 

of  the  Republic  twice  and  also  Minister  of  Public  Instruc- 
tion. He  is  the  Gladstone  of  France.  Lord  Reay's  toast 
was  excellent.  Mr.  Bourgeois's  was  to  the  Sorbonne,  and 
this  present  Prime  Minister  bids  fair  to  equal  any  of  his 
predecessors  in  gracious  and  tactful  oratory, 

"This  morning  I  went  with  Professor  Bonet-Maury 
to  the  'Oratoire' — the  greatest  of  the  Protestant  Churches 
of  France,  and  heard  a  great  sermon  from  Reverend  J.  C. 
Roberti,  who  is  considered  the  first  preacher  in  Paris. 
His  text  was  'Help  mine  unbelief.'  Back  of  the 
Oratoire  (which  by  the  way  was  crowded)  is  the  great 
white  marble  statue  of  Admiral  Coligni — holding  in  his 
hand  an  open  Bible  on  whose  pages  are  the  words,  'The 
memory  of  the  just  shall  endure.'  It  is  to  me  the  most 
impressive  statue  in  the  world  and  I  should  have  'boo- 
hooed'  like  a  baby  if  I  had  been  permitted  by  my  guide  to 
look  at  it  longer  and  think  of  'good  Coligni's  hoary  hair, 
all  dabbled  with  his  blood.' 

"After  breakfast  at  1 1 :30  we  went  by  train  to  Neuilly 
and  called  on  M.  Frederic  Passy — President  of  the  Ar- 
bitration Committee  of  France,  for  eight  years  a  member 
of  the  Chamber  of  Deputies.  He  is  a  grand  old  man 
and  his  old  home  is  surrounded  by  the  loveliest  garden  I 
ever  saw.  I  wish  you  could  have  seen  the  flowers  and 
the  cherry  trees.  M.  Passy's  chief  enthusiasms  now  are 
Free-trade  and  the  Parliament  of  Religions!" 

"Paris,  April  22,  '96. 
"At  5  :30  I  met  Professor  Bonet-Maury — by  appoint- 
ment— at  Jules  Simon's,  10  Place  de  Madeleine.  He  and 
we  had  just  heard  of  the  sudden  death  of  Leon  Say — the 
great  French  statesman,  political  economist,  and  financier 
who  managed  the  payment  of  the  indemnity  to  Germany 


A  WORLD  PILGRIMAGE.  347 

after  the  war — who,  with  Thiers,  saved  the  nation  and, 
with  Gambetta,  organized  the  Republic.  Jules  Simon  was 
very  much  cast  down  and  the  old  man  sat  in  his  chair  like 
one  crushed  with  age  and  sorrow.  But  he  seemed  inter- 
ested in  my  journey  to  India  and  he  told  some  good 
stories.  As  I  left,  he  accompanied  us  to  the  door  of  his 
great  library — where  we  paused  a  moment  to  look  at  the 
bust  of  Thiers,  and  thinking  of  my  journey  round  the 
world — the  octogenarian,  with  the  pleasantest  of  smiles, 
waved  his  hand  and  said  'Bon  voyage.'  It  was  a  picture 
I  shall  never  forget." 

His  letters  tell  also  of  a  reception  given  him  by  the 
friends  of  religious  toleration  in  Paris,  at  which  the  hosts 
were  Colonel  and  Madame  Calmard  and  their  daughters, 
a  charming  Catholic  family,  related  to  Pascal.  At  this 
reception  and  in  calls  made  and  received  later,  he  had 
much  'memorable  talk'  with  the  distinguished  men  his  let- 
ters have  already  mentioned,  and  with  such  others  as 
Albert  Reville,  Reinach,  Zadoc  Kahn,  Brunetiere, 
Auguste  Sabatier,  and  Charles  Wagner. 

But  his  chief  interest  was  his  French  oration.  Of  it 
he  wrote  several  years  afterward :  "My  address  required 
of  me  not  only  unlimited  'nerve,'  but  weeks  of  the  most 
careful  preparation.  I  was  drilled  day  after  day  by  a 
teacher  in  Gottingen  who  had  had  large  experience  pre- 
paring German  professors  for  similar  efforts,  both  in 
French  and  English.  Then  in  Paris  I  went  through  the 
performance  of  reading  the  address  and  receiving  Profes- 
sor Bonet-Maury's  corrections.  It  had  been  more  than 
twenty  years  since  I  had  attempted  to  speak  French,  and 
I  encountered  the  utmost  difficulty  in  twisting  my  Saxon 
tongue  and  adjusting  my  English  mouth  to  the  unaccus- 
tomed sounds.     Furthermore  it  seemed   to  me  cruel   to 


348  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

handicap  an  American  and  to  exhibit  him  before  the  most 
critical  of  audiences,  bidding  him  speak  on  a  great  theme 
in  a  tongue  which  he  had  never  before  used  in  public.  I 
knew  the  reputation  of  Paris,  and  remembered  how 
Charles  Dickens  did  not  dare  to  go  to  a  Parisian  theatre 
to  witness  the  first  production  of  one  of  his  own  stories 
which  had  been  dramatized.  I  was  wrought  up  to  a 
height  of  tension  unparalleled  in  my  own  experience,  but 
the  more  anxious  I  became,  the  harder  I  worked.  At 
last  I  found  myself  with  my  oration  in  my  hand,  standing 
before  the  scholars  of  the  University,  and  the  best  people 
of  the  Faubourg  St.  Germain.  About  me  were  the  rep- 
resentatives of  learning  and  religion.  I  was  presented 
by  one  of  the  foremost  authors  of  France,  and  finally  I 
opened  my  lips  and  pronounced  the  opening  sentences, 
which  I  had  committed  to  memory.  After  all  I  had  gone 
through,  the  words  were  to  me  absolutely  meaningless, 
and  I  shall  never  forget  my  surprise  when  there  came 
out  of  the  mist  and  mystery  before  me  a  ripple  and  almost 
a  roar  of  generous  and  appreciative  applause,  and  I  said 
to  myself:  Is  it  possible  that  these  words  mean  something 
to  the  people  in  this  hall?  Yes,  I  am  in  communication 
with  their  minds.  And  the  thought  at  once  changed  my 
whole  feeling,  and,  from  that  time  on,  forgetting  myself, 
I  remembered  my  theme,  and  the  meaning  of  the  strange 
words  which  my  tongue  with  growing  facility  was  shoot- 
ing like  arrows  at  the  audience  before  me.  I  knew  that 
there  was  great  anxiety  with  my  family,  who  deplored 
the  humiliation  into  which  I  had  been  forced  to  plunge. 
And,  when  the  next  morning  a  telegram  came  to  my  wife 
from  Professor  Bonet-Maury  saying  'Your  husband's 
French  lecture  was  a  brilliant  success,'  it  was  probably  the 
best  news  that  ever  reached  her.     By  this  experience   I 


A  WORLD  PILGRIMAGE.  349 

learned  a  lesson  of  sympathy  for  the  thousands  of  men 
and  women  who  have  gone  out  from  Europe  and  America 
into  far  off  lands  with  the  purpose  of  preaching  the  Gos- 
pel in  strange  tongues.  It  is  one  of  the  most  difficult 
achievements  for  those  in  mature  life  to  unmake  their 
minds,  alter  the  natural  working  of  the  organs  of  thought 
and  speech,  to  make  themselves  the  vehicles  of  truth  in 
other  tongues.  The  miracles  which  accompanied  the 
apostles  in  the  early  church  whereby  they  were  enabled 
to  speak  in  other  languages  than  those  to  which  they  were 
born,  appeared  to  me  to  be  one  of  the  most  beneficent 
things  which  the  grace  of  God  ever  did  for  His  people. 

"My  French  performance  was,  of  course,  grossly  Im- 
perfect in  many  ways.  My  accent  was  far  from  Parisian, 
but  only  courtesy  and  kindliness  characterized  the  remarks 
of  those  who  listened.  It  made  me  feel  ashamed  of  the 
discourtesies  which  foreigners  and  especially  Frenchmen 
sometimes  endure  when  traveling  in  our  own  country, 
simply  because  they  speak  our  language  with  a  strong  ac- 
cent, and  indicate  thus  that  they  do  not  belong  to  our 
people.  If  the  German  and  French  scholars  who  have 
been  treated  uncivilly  in  American  custom  houses,  Amer- 
ican hotels,  and  on  American  railroads  should  all  report, 
as  some  of  them  have  done,  their  experiences,  the  report 
would  not  be  to  the  credit  of  America." 

The  day  after  this  French  oration  he  wrote  to  my 
mother: 

"I  did  not  pronounce  so  well  as  in  practicing  but  the 
audience  was  simply  electric.  How  I  loved  them !  At 
the  close  I  had  to  rise  twice  to  bow  to  the  applaudisse- 
ments.  It  was  all  a  strange  and  lovely  experience.  Then 
Bonet-Maury  spoke  about  India  and  gave  the  thanks  for 
the  listeners.     Then  Leroy-Beaulieu  called  on  me  to  reply 


350  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

in  'une  langue  maternelle'  and  I  went  in  'with  a  whoop.' 
People  said  that  I  was  a  happier  looking  man  in  Eng- 
lish." 

"80  rue  de  Lille,  Paris,  April  27,  1896. 
"It  is  after  eleven  o'clock.  I  returned  an  hour  ago 
from  our  love  feast — a  banquet  given  me  by  my  friends — 
at  the  Palais  Royal.  Bonet-Maury  led  me  to  this  his- 
toric spot — now  given  over  to  good  dinners — at  seven. 
There  were  twenty  covers.  It  was  truly  a  feast  of  love. 
Beaulieu  was  on  my  right.  Among  those  present  were 
Roberti,  Abbe  Charbonnel,  Charles  Wagner,  and  Frank 
Puaux,  editor  of  the  'Revue  Chretienne.'  The  addresses 
were  made  by  Beaulieu — who  proposed,  of  his  own  ac- 
cord, the  toast  of  the  'Congress  of  1900,'  by  A.  Reville 
and  by  Reinach,  my  dear  lovely  Jew.  Reverend  E.  Fon- 
tines,  who  proposed  my  health,  called  me  'le  prophete  d'es- 
perance/  and  all  sorts  of  sweet  things.  I  replied  in  elo- 
quent English,  which  was  much  applauded.  We  had  Cath- 
olics, Protestants,  Greeks,  Jews,  Swedes,  French,  Swiss, 
ministers,  engineers.  University  professors,  litterateurs, 
editors,  advocates,  etc., — a  heavenly  mixture.  I  do  not 
dare  to  recall  the  kind  words  they  said  of  me.  They 
will  be  hard  to  live  up  to." 

"81  rue  de  Lille,  Paris,  April  28,  '96. 
"Arthur  Desjardins  called  at  about  9:30.  He  cap- 
tured the  manuscript  of  my  French  lecture  and  sent  it 
back  with  a  pleasant  note.  Then  Bonet-Maury  and  I 
called  on  two  very  pleasant  Abbes,  Abbe  Klein  and 
Abbe  Naquet,  both  friends  of  our  cause.  Then  we  came 
home  and  drove  to  the  Grand  Hotel — where  by  appoint- 
ment Madame  Calmard  and  her  oldest  daughter,  Pro- 
fessor and  Mrs.  Bonet-Maury  and  I  had  an 
hour  with   Mrs.   Pottere  Palmere.     My   friends  poured 


A  WORLD  PILGRIMAGE. 351 

out  on  her  such  a  eulogy  of  my  mission  in  Paris  and  told 
so  eloquently  how  I,  the  'magician,'  had  entirely  changed 
the  situation — that  I  changed  my  seat  to  talk  with  M. 
Pottere  Palmere.  Mrs.  Palmer  fairly  dazzled  and  en- 
tirely charmed  my  French  friends.  She  speaks  French 
very  beautifully. 

"Tonight  I  am  to  have  a  little  rest.  I  never  can  tell 
you  how  I  love  the  men  who  have  opened  their  hearts 
to  me  here." 

His  letters  describe  delightful  hours  in  the  Louvre, 
the  Luxemburg,  and  the  Salon  Champs  Elysees.  He 
writes,  too,  of  "Varnishing  Day"  at  the  Salon  Champ  de 
Mars,  where  he  found  Dagnan-Bouveret's  "Last  Supper" 
"its  own  supreme  and  splendid  vindication"  and  was 
almost  "awestruck  by  the  strange  loveliness  of  the 
Saviour's  head  and  by  the  flood  of  mellow  light  which 
appears  to  come  from  his  whole  form  as  he  stands  in  the 
midst  of  his  Apostles  who  are  not  looking  at  us,  as  if  on 
exhibition,  but  are  absorbed  in  the  supernatural  splendor 
of  their  Master."  On  May  2,  he  was  presented  to  the 
Academy  of  Moral  and  Political  Sciences,  one  of  the  five 
that  make  up  the  famous  Institute  of  France.  "I  was 
introduced,"  he  tells  us,  "by  the  distinguished  philosopher 
and  archaeologist  M.  Ravaisson-Mollieu,  now  in  his  eighty- 
third  year.  About  thirty  of  the  forty  members  sat  around 
the  elliptical  table  that  represents  the  highest  honor  to 
which  men  of  science  and  literature  in  France  can  aspire. 
What  impressed  me  in  the  members  was  their  simple  cor- 
diality of  manner  and  their  venerable  years.  The  laurels 
in  France  encircle  gray  heads."  Nor  was  this  his  only  ex- 
perience that  Saturday." 

"May  3rd,  1896. 

"I  will  not  take  time  to  describe  the  hour  I  spent  under- 


353  JOHN  HENRY   BARROWS 

ground,  wax  taper  in  hand,  wandering  amid  a  hundred 
thousand  skulls  and  four  hundred  thousand  femurs,  radii, 
ulnae,  etc.,  all  artistically  arranged.  Leaving  the  quarries 
and  the  sepulchers  and  the  darkness,  I  hastened  back  to 
Bonet-Maury's  and  we  called  on  Reverend  M.  Fontanes. 
He  was  a  great  friend  of  Dean  Stanley's  and  is  a  friend  of 
Baroness  Burdett-Coutts.  He  went  with  us  by  appoint- 
ment to  the  Hotel  de  Rhin  overlooking  the  Place  Ven- 
dome,  where  the  aged  and  benevolent  Baroness — simple  as 
a  child,  sweet  as  an  angel — received  us  most  kindly  and 
gave  us  tea  and  talked  missions,  India,  etc.  She  wants  me 
to  come  to  London  before  I  go  and  see  what  is  being  done 
for  animals  by  her  Society.  She  wishes  me  to  tell  Dhar- 
mapala  that  we  are  not  so  bad  to  the  animals  as  we  were. 
She  invited  us  to  call  again." 

A  little  tour  through  the  Loire  country  convinced  him 
that  "Paris  is  not  France"  and  as  he  took  the  train  from 
Blois  back  to  Paris,  his  mind  was  full  of  "the  infinite 
picturesqueness  of  the  French  past"  and  the  "horrible 
part  that  religion  has  sometimes  played  in  the  drama  of 
history" — yet  he  adds,  "Out  of  the  shadows  the  world 
sweeps  into  a  higher  day,  and  that  evening  at  Mr.  Clar- 
ence Eddy's  dinner  table  I  realized  the  contrast  between  the 
fierce  conflicts  of  the  sixteenth  century  and  the  milder 
struggles  of  the  nineteenth  as  I  heard  an  American  lady 
exclaiming  in  the  ear  of  a  skeptical  British  doctor,  'I  tell 
you  sir,  prohibition  in  Iowa  has  been  a  grand  success.'  " 
That  same  day,  too,  he  wrote,  "I  am  determined  to  cut 
these  Parisian  ties  and  fly  home.  Oh  for  my  family  and 
Frau  Bau  Inspector's  soup."  Three  days  later  he  had 
them  both.  These  Paris  experiences  led  him  to  write  the 
next  year: 

"I   found   much   kinship  with  what  is  best  in  human 


A  WORLD  PILGRIMAGE. 353 

thought  and  life  in  French  society.  Perhaps  more  than 
I  found  elsewhere  in  my  world-pilgrimage.  There  is  a 
willingness  to  accept  new  ideas;  there  is  a  breadth  of 
sympathy ;  there  is  an  enthusiasm  for  human  brotherhood ; 
there  is  a  charm  of  manner ;  there  is  a  brilliancy  and  agil- 
ity of  mind,  that  make  the  best  French  people  most 
lovable  and  admirable.  The  most  eloquent  words  I 
heard  in  Europe  were  Jules  Simon's  in  praise  of  the  nobler 
French  womanhood." 

In  June  he  was  invited  to  speak  at  an  Arbitration 
meeting  in  London  in  behalf  of  a  movement  that  was 
seeking  to  create  a  "sense  of  unity  in  the  English-speaking 
household."  He  found  it  unwise  to  accept,  but  a  letter 
to  Mr.  W.  T.  Stead  discloses  his  sympathy  with  the  pro- 
posed plan : 

"The  widespread  and  profound  ignorance  or  indiffer- 
ence of  many  on  each  side  of  the  water  in  regard  to  what 
is  noblest  and  most  Christian  in  their  kindred  on  the  other 
side  of  the  sea,  can  be  largely  replaced  by  knowledge, 
sympathy,  and  good  will  through  such  an  organization  as 
has  been  suggested.  Not  only  should  a  permanent  Court 
of  Arbitration  be  established,  but  something  effective 
should  immediately  be  begun  to  promote  friendliness,  de- 
stroy animosity,  and  secure  joint  efforts  for  the  noblest 
common  objects. 

"The  moral  alliance  of  America  and  England  and  of 
the  other  English-speaking  peoples  will  be  brought  about 
through  the  exercise  of  common  sense,  the  development 
of  the  idea  of  a  common  mission,  and  through  those 
courtesies  which  are  found  among  gentlemen,  and  should 
not  be  lacking  in  the  columns  of  newspapers  and  the  dis- 
patches of  statesmen.  This  moral  alliance  must  be 
achieved  before  the  political  federation  of  English-speak- 


354  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

ing  nationalities,  who  will  soon  control  the  destinies  of 
mankind,  will  be  possible.  I,  who  have  often  stood,  with 
proud  tears  in  my  eyes,  at  the  chief  shrines  of  English 
liberty  and  renown,  have  experienced  some  of  the  deepest 
joys  of  life  in  our  'Old  Home,'  and,  if  I  can  render  the 
least  service  to  a  cause  which  means  civilization,  freedom, 
peace,  international  justice,  the  development  of  English 
institutions,  and  the  ultimate  triumph  of  the  Larger  Christ 
and  Larger  Church,  I  shall  feel  that  I  have  helped  to  put 
a  pry  under  the  planet,  thus  giving  the  whole  world  a 
lift  toward  the  gladness  of  a  brighter  day." 

A  day  with  the  great  Rembrandts  in  Cassel,  and  a 
tramping  tour  in  Heine's  footsteps  through  the  Hartz, 
broke  the  monotony  of  study.  And  when  in  August 
the  summer  semester  closed  he  forsook  for  a  while  the 
Leine  valley,  lovely  with  poppies,  daisies,  and  corn  flowers, 
to  ramble  with  his  three  oldest  children  through  the  chief 
historic  towns  of  Germany.  That  in  the  midst  of  this 
leisure  he  had  not  forgotten  the  work  before  him  is  clear 
from  one  of  his  letters: 

"Gottingen,  Sept.  24,  1896. 
"Dear  Mrs.  Haskell: 

"At  the  close  of  a  very  busy  day,  during  which  we 
have  been  packing  five  or  six  trunks  for  various  parts  of 
the  world,  my  thoughts  turn  to  you.  Now  that  our  life 
here  is  nearly  ended,  and  we  begin  so  soon  our  pilgrimage 
to  India,  I  wish  you  to  share  fully  the  happy  and  hope- 
ful feelings  with  which  I  go  forth  on  my  mission,  your 
mission,  yes,  Christ's  mission.  Now  that  my  lectures  are 
finished,  I  feel  a  renewed  confidence  in  the  message  given 
me  to  speak.  The  doors  in  India  appear  to  be  wide  open. 
All  the  chief  cities  and  seats  of  learning  are  glad  to  give 


A  WORLD  PILGRIMAGE  355 

me  a  hearing.  Missionaries'  homes  are  offered  to  us. 
The  Secretary  of  the  Buddhist  Society  in  Calcutta,  in  a 
letter  just  received,  sa3's  that  they  will  be  glad  to  see 
me  there.  Professor  Manilal  D'evedi,  a  leading  Hindu 
scholar,  sends  me  a  very  cordial  note.  But  my  chief  joy 
has  come  from  a  touching  letter  sent  by  Mr.  Mozoomdar. 
Some  sentences  of  it  I  must  copy  for  you.  He  says: 
'I  believe  both  Mrs.  Barrows  and  yourself  can  realize 
how  your  handwriting,  and  all  that  you  say  of  yourself, 
cheers  me.  It  recalls  a  host  of  associations  that  cling 
around  your  name  and  my  acquaintance  with  you,  like 
the  blessed  memories  of  some  bygone  and  blessed  state 
of  existence.  I  am  glad  you  have  taken  this  long  holiday 
in  Europe  with  your  family  with  you.  It  is  a  rest  which 
you  needed  and  have  fully  earned.  But  the  American's 
rest  is  almost  as  arduous  as  his  work.  It  is  said  the 
Yankee  employs  himself  by  felling  timber,  and  then  rests 
himself  by  sawing  it  up.  So  your  rest  means  hard  study 
in  Gottingen,  of  which,  however,  we  hope  to  enjoy  the 
fruit  next  cold  weather.  Whenever  you  come,  you  will 
be  received  as  cordially  as  it  is  in  our  power  to  make  it, 
but  it  can  never  be  anything  like  the  reception  we  met 
in  Chicago  in  September,  1893.  Our  nation  is  still  in  the 
old  ways,  ways  that  are  narrow  and  crooked  and  dark. 
We  need  a  man  of  special  call  and  uncommon  abil- 
ity. Such  a  man,  my  dear  friend  and  brother,  you  are. 
My  hopes  and  enthusiasm  at  the  prospect  of  your  visit 
are  indeed  great.  Perhaps  you  have  had  and  will  have 
to  keep  a  little  aloof  from  me,  I  being  "non-Christian," 
and  my  people  much  more  non-Christian  than  mj'self. 
Nor  am  I  disposed  to  take  advantage  of  your  great  name 
and  my  friendship  with  you,  to  further  any  religious  in- 
terest that  I  hold  dear  to  my  heart.     But  I  claim  that 


356  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

no  Christian,  European  or  native,  can  have  greater  long- 
ings that  you  should  come  to  India  and  speak  to  its  best 
people,  than  I  have.  Because  I  know  and  feel  that  you 
can  place  Christ  before  us  as  others  cannot,  because  the 
Spirit  of  God,  who  breathed  in  Christ,  breathes  in  you. 
And  by  the  force  of  your  spirit,  you  can  draw  us  close 
to  oneness  both  with  God  and  His  blessed  Son.  It  will 
not  be  in  my  lifetime,  which  is  now  nearing  its  end, 
that  India  receives  the  great  and  blessed  covenant  of  one- 
ness with  the  ancient  God  of  our  land  in  the  spirit  and 
love  of  Jesus  Christ,  as  I  have  received  it  myself,  but  be- 
lieve me  that  the  day  shall  come.  In  my  very  humble 
way,  the  faults  of  which  no  one  knows  better  than  I,  I 
have  labored  for  this  great  end ;  and  now,  noble  and 
illustrious  brother,  in  order  that  the  same  end  may  be 
more  fully  served  by  you,  I  await  your  arrival  with 
anxiety  and  affection.  I  wish  it  were  in  my  power  to 
receive  you  in  Bombay.  When  you  feel  drawn,  please 
write  to  me  again,  for  no  one  can  have  greater  honor  for 
you  than  myself.  Now  what  shall  I  say  in  conclusion  to 
dear  Mrs.  Barrows?  When  she  comes  to  Calcutta  my 
poor  wife  will  take  her  by  both  hands  for  all  her  goodness 
to  me.  For  myself  I  can  only  bless  her  and  her  children. 
'Most  cordially  and  faithfully  yours, 

'P.  C.  Mozoomdar.' 

"Isn't  this  a  wonderful  letter?  I  read  it  with  tears  in 
my  eyes  and  a  choking  in  my  throat.  I  know  of  no  man 
who  lives  nearer  to  God  than  Mozoomdar.  He  speaks 
out  of  the  Spirit.  How  grateful  I  feel  to  him.  He  is 
in  one  sense  the  originator  of  the  lectureship,  and  I  hope 
that  I  can  bring  some  comfort  to  his  spirit.  His  life  is 
hard  as  he  is  a  kind  of  mediator  between  Christianity  and 


A  WORLD  PILGRIMAGE  357 

Hinduism.  O  that  I  might  be  baptized  into  his  deep 
sense  of  fellowship  with  God! 

"The  dear  Lord  bless  you  abundantly  and  fill  your 
heart  with  His  great  peace." 

Preparations  for  the  journey  to  India  were  completed 
in  London,  where  he  assisted,  early  in  October,  at  a  great 
Armenian  demonstration  in  the  City  Temple,  preached 
for  his  friend  Dr.  George  F.  Pentecost  in  the  Marylebone 
Presbyterian  Church,  and  lectured  on  "God's  Universal 
Fatherhood"  at  Reverend  Herbert  Stead's  Social  Settle- 
ment, Browning  hall.  "I  was,"  he  tells  us,  "very  much  im- 
pressed by  the  intelligence  and  acuteness  of  the  English 
working  people  whom  we  met.  I  gave  them  an  address, 
which  I  have  given  before  companies  of  scholars  in  Amer- 
ican universities,  and  was  delighted  to  see  how  pleased 
they  were  that  I  gave  them  the  best  that  I  had.  There 
was  no  talking  down  to  them.  They  are  a  manly,  acute, 
and  broad-minded  company  of  people." 

He  and  my  mother  did  not  stay  long  in  London.  He 
writes : 

"We  have  had  a  golden  day  in  Oxford,  visiting  with 
Professor  J.  Estlin  Carpenter,  Professor  Max  Miiller, 
and  Dr.  Fairbairn.  Professor  Carpenter  showed  us  Man- 
chester New  College,  in  which  he  is  the  leading  instructor. 
This  Unitarian  foundation  in  Oxford  seems  to  have  been 
accepted  without  much  pious  grumbling.  Professor  Car- 
penter is  far  from  being  a  destructive  radical.  His  accu- 
rate and  profound  scholarship  is  joined  to  a  sympathetic 
and  vigorous  religious  nature  which  puts  him  into  spirit- 
ual accord  with  a  large  varietj^  of  earnest  souls.  I  have 
rarely  met  so  manly  and  attractive  a  personality.  The 
library  of  Manchester  College  is  worthy  of  Oxford  on 
account  of  its  beauty,  and  so  is  the  chapel,  with  its  win- 


35S  JOHN   HENRY   BARROWS 

dows  designed  by  Burne-Jones  and  executed  b)'  the  late 
William  Morris.  Professor  Carpenter's  house  is  one  of 
those  English  homes,  embowered  in  roses,  which  tempt 
many  an  American  city  pastor  or  professor  to  break  the 
tenth  commandment! 

"Professor  and  Mrs.  Max  Miiller  were  as  charming 
and  gracious  as  we  found  them  last  summer.  They  had 
invited  Professor  and  Mrs.  Carpenter  to  meet  us  at 
luncheon,  and  the  Indian  talk  by  these  two  scholars  was 
of  rare  interest.  Max  Miiller  was  recently  made  a 
member  of  the  Queen's  Privy  Council,  and  is  now  a  Right 
Honorable.  As  Dean  of  the  foreign  section  of  the  French 
Axademy  he  was  invited  to  Paris  to  meet  the  Czar.  'I 
could  not  go,'  he  said.     'It  was  only  an  emperor!' 

"Yesterday  we  spent  in  Cambridge  and  Ely.  The 
Ely  cathedral  is  certainly  one  of  the  chief  glories  of 
England,  and  Cambridge  has  long  been  to  me  one  of  the 
Meccas  of  the  mind.  Did  I  not  feed  my  youth  on  Mil- 
ton's poetry?  What  a  symposium  the  Cambridge  alumni 
may  enjoy  in  the  ethereal  realms! 

"Over  the  Victoria  station  when  we  began  our  travels 
eastward  we  saw  in  great  letters  Taris,  Italy,  India.'  A 
two  hours'  ride  through  the  hop-fields  of  Kent  by  Roch- 
ester Cathedral,  brought  us  to  Canterbury  and  to  the 
comforts  of  this  English  Inn  'The  Rose.'  The  sunshine 
bathed  the  great  Cathedral.  We  took  tea  with  Dean 
Farrar,  who  kindly  walked  with  us  through  the  delightful 
grounds  around  the  Deanery  and  poured  forth  such  a 
wealth  of  history  as  perhaps  only  Dean  Stanley  could  have 
equalled.  We  had  seen  St.  Martin's  church,  the  oldest 
church  building  in  England,  and  in  its  church-j'ard  Dean 
Alford's  tomb,  on  which  I  read,  with  peculiar  emotion,  an 
inscription  which  would  be  appropriate  to  me,  resting  here 


A  WORLD  PILGRIMAGE  359 

to-night:  'The  inn  of  a  traveler  on  his  way  to  Jerusalem.' 
We  parted  from  Dean  Farrar  under  Christ  Church  gate, 
beneath  which,  as  he  told  us,  Charles  V,  Henry  VIII,  and 
Cardinal  Wolsey  had  walked  together.  Here  the  good 
Dean  wished  for  us  a  happy  journey  to  India." 

The  way  to  India  ran  through  France,  Italy,  Greece, 
Constantinople,  Palestine,  and  Egypt.  The  weeks  spent 
in  these  places  were  among  his  happiest,  since  in  company 
with  my  mother,  he  renewed  many  of  the  impressions  that 
he  had  received  twenty-three  years  before,  and  added  to 
them. 

His  letters  to  Mrs.  Haskell,  relating  the  events  of  his 
stay  in  Constantinople  and  Cairo,  may  well  end  our  ac- 
count of  this  first  stage  in  his  world  pilgrimage. 

"Sea  of  Marmora,  40  miles  from  Constantinople, 

"S.  Y.  'Midnight  Sun,'  Nov.  4th,   1896. 
"Dear  Mrs.  Haskell: 

"We  have  left  the  wicked  and  doomed  city  of  Con- 
stantinople and  are  now  en  route  to  Smyrna,  We  have 
not  yet  heard  of  McKinley's  election,  but  expect  to  receive 
a  telegram  to-morrow  morning  at  the  Dardanelles. 

"We  had  three  glorious  days  in  Athens  and  three  hor- 
rible days  in  Constantinople,  where  we  arrived  Sunday 
at  midnight.  E.  has  been  made  almost  sick  by  what  she 
has  seen  and  heard  in  Constantinople.  We  were  invited 
to  spend  two  nights — and  we  spent  one,  with  Dr.  and 
Mrs.  Washburn  at  Robert  College  on  the  Bosporus, 
perhaps  eight  miles  from  the  dreadful  city.  They  are 
glorious  people.  You  remember  Dr.  Washburn's  por- 
trait in  my  book.  His  house  was  guarded  by  sixteen 
soldiers,  and  he  had  four  faithful  students  to  watch  the 
soldiers.     The  missionaries  were  all  very  kind  to  us.     I 


36q JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

was  taken  to  the  American  Bible  House  where  I  had  quite 
a  reception.  O  such  stories  of  recent  cruelties  as  we 
heard!  Reverend  Dr.  Herrick  came  for  us  this  morning 
and  took  us  over  to  Scutari  on  the  Asiatic  side,  and  we 
with  him  visited  the  Girls'  College  taught  and  supported 
by  Americans.  The  young  ladies  were  called  together  in 
the  chapel  and  I  addressed  them.  It  was  a  piece  of 
Heaven  in  all  this  Hell.  We  called  on  Dr.  Riggs — 
eighty-six  years  old  and  for  sixtj^-five  years  a  missionary 
in  Turkey.  He  and  all  are  well  informed  of  my  mission 
to  India  and  will  follow  us  with  their  prayers.  We  also 
visited  the  Orphanage  for  little  girls  recently  opened. 
There  are  forty-nine  of  them.  The  fathers  of  all  have 
been  recently  killed.  They  sang  for  us  and  we  could 
hardly  keep  from  sobbing.  God  bless  these  poor  little 
sufferers  and  their  brave  American  friends!  It  seemed 
to  us  that  some  great  calamity  is  impending  over  the  city 
of  the  wicked.  We  were  glad  to  leave  it.  Indeed  the 
American  Consul  at  Athens  warned  us  not  to  go  there, 
as  the  Sultan  might  order,  at  any  time,  the  slaughter  of 
all  Christians,  native  and  foreign. 

"I  never  felt  so  deeply  before  that  the  Gospel  of  Love, 
Forgiveness,  Humanity,  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  is  the 
only  hope  of  the  world.  E.  says  that  she  is  never  going 
to   give   another  cent   to   Home   Missions! 

"We  are  meeting  many  interesting  people  on  board  this 
ship.  Last  Sunday  night  I  preached  to  the  passengers 
on  'Religion  and  the  Beautiful.'  We  had  just  come  from 
Athens  and  all  minds  were  filled  with  thoughts  of  the 
lovely  visions  of  old  Greek  Art." 

"Cairo,  Egypt,  Dec.  i,  1896. 
"Our  days  in  Egypt  have  been  most  interesting  and 
yet  restful.     During  the  last  few  days  I  have  been  seeing 


A  WORLD  PILGRIMAGE 361 

people,  in  the  company  of  a  Chaldean  Archbishop,  Prince 
Nouri,  who  speaks  sixteen  languages.  We  have  visited 
the  Coptic  Patriarch,  who  learned  with  great  interest 
of  my  mission  to  India,  and  who  has  promised  to  re- 
member my  work  in  his  prayers.  We  have  seen  the  Mo- 
hammedan University  and  the  Coptic  University.  1 
have  made  the  acquaintance  of  two  learned  men,  editors 
of  an  Arabic  journal,  who  have  published  an  account  of 
me  and  my  work. 

"Yesterday  morning  Prince  Nouri  and  I  called  upon 
a  Moslem  scholar,  who  is  at  the  head  of  the  Mohammedan 
organization  in  Egypt,  and  spent  more  than  an  hour  with 
him.  He  is  a  man  of  broad  spirit,  a  very  unusual  man 
for  a  Mussulman,  and  he  would  like  to  represent  Mo- 
hammedanism at  the  next  Parliament  of  Religions.  In 
the  afternoon  we  called,  by  appointment,  on  Sophronius, 
the  Greek  Patriarch  of  Alexandria,  the  oldest  Bishop  in 
the  world.  He  has  passed  his  one  hundred  and  third 
year,  having  been  born  in  Constantinople  in  1792,  yet 
he  looks  as  vigorous  as  any  young  man  of  seventy-five. 
Mr.  Gladstone  and  Pope  Leo  seem  to  him  rather  boyish! 
He  has  been  eighty-six  years  a  priest  and  seventy-six  years 
a  Bishop.  It  was  pleasant  to  hear  him  say  that  he  was 
in  loving  fellowship  with  all  who  loved  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  that  he  would  not  fail  to  remember  me  and 
my  mission  in  his  prayers. 

"This  morning  we  had  a  delightful  hour  with  Selim 
Pasha,  the  Egyptian  Minister  of  Public  Instruction,  He 
belongs  to  the  Orthodox  Greek  Church,  but  he  says  that 
the  best  educational  work  done  in  Egypt  is  done  by  the 
American  Presbyterian  Mission.  His  wife  and  five 
daughters  came  in  to  see  us.  The  youngest  daughter  is 
named  Paradise.     They  are  almost  as  nice  as  American 


362  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

children  but  rather  timid.  Wherever  we  call,  little  cups 
of  Turkish  coffee  are  served,  and  yesterday  I  drank  seven 
cups!" 

"On  the  Gulf  of  Babel  Mandeb,  Nearing  Aden, 

"Dec.  8,  1896. 

"The  Pasha  sent  me  his  photograph  and  I  called  again 
and  gave  him  mine.  He  was  most  fluent  and  florid  in 
his  acknowledgment.  He  said :  'Dr.  Barrows,  this 
picture  shall  be  on  the  front  page  of  my  album.  I  am  a 
poor  man,  but  if  God  had  given  me  riches,  I  should  have 
it  framed  in  diamonds.'  It  was  with  difficulty  that  I  sup- 
pressed a  tendency  to  titter  and  tried  to  say  something  in 
reply,  but  if  Prince  Nouri's  Arabic  had  not  reinforced  my 
American  English,  the  answer  would  have  been  utterly 
commonplace. 

"We  left  Cairo  regretfully,  though  I  realized  that  the 
time  had  come  for  me  to  'brace  up'  for  my  work.  At 
Port  Said  the  Governor  of  the  Suez  Canal,  who  had  read 
of  me  in  the  Arabic  papers,  gave  us  his  private  boat  for 
a  trip  in  the  harbor.  By  the  way,  the  oriental  extrava- 
gance of  the  Arabic  journal  in  speaking  of  me  was  most 
amusing.  My  friend  Prince  Nouri  translated  for  me. 
'We  had  the  extreme  delight  of  a  sublime  visit  yesterday 
from  his  Lordship,  Reverend  Dr.  John  Henry  Barrows, 
etc.  We  found  in  him  an  infinite  ocean  of  science  and 
literature  and  especially  of  theology!!'  I  met  the  editor 
the  next  day  and  thanked  him  for  his  great  praises,  but  he 
said,  'Though  I  am  glad  to  have  decorated  my  paper  with 
your  immortal  name,  I  am  inexpressibly  sad  that  my 
words  were  so  miserably  inadequate,  for  to  do  you  full 
justice  would  exhaust  all  the  columns  of  my  paper!!'  It 
was  very  hard  to  keep  my  face  straight,  and  I  know  that 


i 
i 


A  WORLD  PILGRIMAGE  ^62, 

you  will  have  a  good  laugh  over  it  as  we  did.  I  saw 
most  of  the  principal  people  of  Cairo,  the  Greek  and 
Coptic  Patriarchs  and  Archbishops,  the  leading  Moslem, 
the  Minister  of  Public  Instruction,  Lord  Cromer,  the 
English  Viceroy,  the  missionaries,  and  leading  editors. 

"I  enclose  Dr.  Hume's  plan  for  my  lectures.  He  has 
done  me  a  very  great  se.rvice.  In  one  week  we  expect  to 
land." 


CHAPTER  XIX 

INDIA   AND   JAPAN    1 896- 1 897 

"Certainly  he  is  rich,  the  boundaries  of  whose  life  have 
been  enlarged,  so  that  he  lives  in  all  the  rooms  of  his 
spiritual  house,  and  not  merely  in  the  cellar."  Accord- 
ing to  this,  his  own  definition,  my  father  was  a  man  of 
wealth,  to  which  new  stores  had  been  added  by  the 
savants  and  statesmen  of  Paris,  by  secluded  Gottingen 
with  its  flavor  of  the  past,  and  by  the  two  months  of 
travel  that  bound  Germany  to  India.  But  he  never 
allowed  rust  to  corrupt  his  riches.  Not  hoarding,  but 
using,  was  his  motto.  And  in  these  five  Asiatic  months 
that  called  into  play  all  of  his  physical  energy  and  en- 
durance, his  mental  alertness  and  dexterity,  and  his  ability 
to  win  men's  hearts,  he  poured  forth  unstintingly  his 
abundant  knowledge  of  God.  During  his  three  months 
in  India  he  traveled  six  thousand  miles,  visited  twenty-five 
towns,  and  made  one  hundred  and  thirteen  addresses,  to 
nearly  forty  thousand  people. 

When  he  and  my  mother  landed  in  Bombay,  they 
were  welcomed  by  Hindus,  Jains,  Parsis,  Brahmos,  and 
Christians.  Long  garlands  intertwined  with  gilt  tinsel 
were  placed  about  their  necks,  and  this  pretty  attention 
only  presaged  the  courtesy  and  honor  that  greeted  them 
all  through  the  Orient.  My  father  has  described  some 
of  his  first  impressions. 

"On  the  morning  of  December  sixteenth,  I  looked  out 
for  the  first  time  on  the  fields  of  India.  Clumps  and 
rows  of  trees,  all  of  them  strange  to  us,  diversified  and 


INDIA  AND  JAPAN  365 

colored  the  dry,  brown  landscape  with  patches  of  green. 
One's  first  feeling  was  the  wideness  and  bigness  of  India, 
— a  striking  contrast  to  Egypt,  Palestine,  and  Greece. 
But  the  evidences  of  drought  were  painfully  present,  and 
the  shivering,  half-starved,  and  half-naked  figures  which 
in  the  early  morning  came  out  of  the  wretched  mud  vil- 
lages or  gathered  at  the  pretty  stations  of  the  Great  In- 
dian Peninsula  Railroad,  showed  us  that  famine  is  impend- 
ing. A  poor  ragged  girl,  hardly  able  to  stand,  would 
not  take  from  us  a  part  of  the  ample  and  delicious  lunch- 
eon which  Mrs.  Hume  had  provided.  Hungry  American 
children  would  have  scrambled  for  a  piece  of  the  cake 
which  this  Hindu  girl,  bound  by  caste,  sadly  refused. 
But  she  picked  up  the  half-anna  which  I  threw  to  her, 
equivalent  to  six  pie  or  one  cent.  From  all  this  E. 
evolved  the  first  generalization  applicable  to  India.  It 
is  this:  that  starving  Hindu  children  will  take  pie  but 
not  cake  from  the  hands  of  Christians!  The  colors  and 
the  garments  and  the  faces  and  the  noises  at  one  of  the 
great  railway  stations  of  India  make  you  feel  how  tame 
and  commonplace  was  the  Midway  Plaisance.  Such  im- 
possible greens,  blues,  purples,  reds,  and  yellows!  Such 
head-dresses  of  every  size  and  shade  and  shape!  We  saw 
Mohammedans  who  had  dyed  their  beards  and  hair  orange 
color,  and  wore  long  gold-embroidered  robes,  and  walked 
barefooted  or  in  stockingless  slippers.  But  to  me  the 
most  evident  fact  in  India  thus  far  has  not  been  any 
splendor  of  foliage  or  flowers,  nor  the  appearance  of 
monkeys  in  fields,  nor  the  new  kinds  of  vegetation,  nor 
even  the  general  poverty  everj^where  apparent.  To  me 
the  most  evident  fact  in  India  is  the  human  leg.  It  is 
usually  bare  to  the  hip.  Men  with  their  heads  and  bodies 
covered  with  white  cotton  cloth  walk  bare-legged  through 


366 JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

field  and  street.  Brown  legs,  slim  legs,  black  legs,  hairy 
legs,  legs  larger  at  the  knees  than  at  the  thigh,  so  slim 
and  spare  that  you  wonder  how  the  body  is  supported, 
legs  of  boys  and  young  men  and  old  men,  of  little  girls 
with  sweet  faces  and  dark  fawn-like  eyes, — these  are  the 
objects  which  the  non-Christian  populations  of  India 
thrust  before  the  eyes  of  travelers. 

"Benares  did  not  enchant  me  with  popular  Hinduism. 
It  is  not  an  inspiring  and  elevating  spectacle,  the  sight 
at  close  range  of  Hinduism  and  what  it  has  effected  in 
a  land  where  nearly  one-half  the  people  are  imprisoned 
for  life,  hidden  from  sight  in  the  seclusion  and  social 
starvation  of  the  zenana;  in  a  country  with  three  hun- 
dred millions  of  people  and  three  hundred  and  thirty- 
three  millions  of  gods,  most  of  whose  inhabitants  are 
half-naked,  and  one-fourth  of  whom  have  but  a  single 
meal  a  day,  even  when  famine  has  not  swept  away,  as 
during  the  last  twelve  months,  its  millions  of  victims; 
a  country  where  idolatry  in  its  most  hideous  forms  spreads 
its  debasing  influence,  holding  in  childish  enslavement 
a  ^r'-'ple  whom  a  pure  Christianity  is  yet  to  reach,  in- 
structing them  that  God,  who  is  spirit,  must  be  wor- 
shipped in  spirit  and  in  truth ;  a  country  where  lying  is 
an  immemorial  fine  art,  where  English  judges  are  in  de- 
spair of  knowing  what  testimony  in  court  is  true,  and 
where  American  observers,  predisposed,  like  Colonel  Ol- 
cott,  to  look  favorably  on  all  things  Indian,  feel  the  hope- 
lessness of  raising  the  people  out  of  bottomless  depths  of 
moral  rottenness;  a  country  where  the  population,  sepa- 
rated by  race,  language,  and  religion,  are  spread  over  a 
peninsula  so  vast  that  what  is  said  in  Calcutta  may  appear 
to  Lahore  like  an  utterance  from  another  nation,  and 
what  is  done  in  Bombay  is  of  little  moment,  unless  it  be 


INDIA  AND  JAPAN  2,^7 

in  the  matter  of  the  plague,  to  those  who  live  in  Madras. 

"India  is  a  land  where  religion  can  be  observed  and 
where  it  cannot  be  escaped,  and  this  for  two  reasons: 
first,  because  religion  is  external ;  and  second,  because  it 
is  universal.  A  man's  religion  is  often  indicated  by  the 
streaks  of  paint  on  his  forehead.  If  they  are  horizontal, 
you  know  he  is  a  worshipper  of  Siva.  If  they  are  vertical, 
or  convergent  toward  the  bridge  of  the  nose,  you  know 
that  he  is  a  worshipper  of  Vishnu.  The  use  of  paint  is 
one  of  the  striking  features  of  Hinduism.  Entering  the 
bank  in  Bombay,  you  are  surprised  that  the  accomplished, 
polite,  English-speaking  accountant  has  a  red  mark  in 
the  centre  of  his  forehead,  indicating  that  he  has  done 
service  that  morning  to  his  idol.  This  is  called  doing 
one's  'pooja.' 

"One  may  observe  accurately  and  fully  the  working  of 
religion  in  India  because  it  is  universal.  Religion  enters 
into  all  life;  and  in  Benares,  for  example,  it  seems  to  be 
the  main  business  of  life.  Who  that  has  seen  it  can 
ever  forget  that  picture  which  so  many  have  attempted 
vainly  to  describe — the  morning  scene  on  the  Ganges,  be- 
low the  long  line  of  temples  and  tombs  that  fringe  the 
sacred  shore,  the  men,  women,  and  children  by  the  thou- 
sand, and  sometimes  by  the  ten  thousand,  who  have 
come  down  for  their  ablutions,  stretching  their  arms  and 
saying  their  prayers  toward  the  sun,  calling  upon  the 
names  of  their  gods,  washing  their  mouths  and  ears  and 
arms  and  legs  in  the  great  river,  whose  touch  is  so  sacred 
and  potential  that  it  removes  all  sin !  In  the  bewildering 
scene  one  becomes  confused  and  asks  himself  if  he  is  vis- 
iting Bedlam.  Is  this  the  nineteenth  century?  Where 
is  our  boasted  civilization?  Are  all  men  maniacs  here? 
Is  insanity  the  natural  condition  of  some  portions  of  the 


368  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

human  race?  There  is  a  temple  to  the  goddess  of  small- 
pox; here  are  idols  of  almost  inconceivable  hideousness; 
there  are  men  carr}ang  a  dead  body  to  lay  it  in  the  sacred 
waters  before  it  is  burned ;  here  others  are  pounding  the 
fragments  of  a  human  form  that  has  been  only  partly 
burned  to  ashes;  there  hundreds  of  poor  wretches  are 
crowding  down  toward  a  noisome  well  with  copper  coins 
in  their  fingers  and  wreaths  of  yellow  flowers,  eager  to 
dip  their  feet  and  hands  in  its  infected  depths;  here  are 
hideous  caricatures  of  humanity,  shriveled,  clothed  in 
rags  and  vermin,  deformed,  mendicant,  lying  on  the  verge 
of  the  stream,  hoping  that  death  will  strike  them  there. 

"You  enter  a  temple  at  Benares — if  the  cows  will  per- 
mit you,  for  the  cows  are  here  deified — and  you  see  loath- 
some wretches  crawling  through  filth  and  touching  various 
parts  of  the  sacred  animal  with  their  lips.  Here  idolatry 
presents  an  aspect  which  robs  it  of  its  last  vestige  of  re- 
spectability. One  may  have  some  aesthetic  sympathy 
with  those  who  gather  on  the  mountain-peak  to  watch 
the  rising  sun  and  to  render  homage  to  the  god  of  light 
as  he  peers  over  the  Persian  mountain ;  one  may  have 
some  sympathy  with  the  spirit  of  the  Japanese  pilgrim 
who  climbs  the  sacred  peak  of  his  own  beautiful  land. 
Many  lovers  of  beauty  discover  something  lovable,  not 
only  in  the  Greek  and  Roman  mythologies,  but  also  in 
the  services  rendered  to  Phoebus  Apollo,  or  Pallas  Athene, 
or  to  Olympian  Zeus ;  but  in  Hindu  temples  almost  every- 
thing is  dark  and  ugly,  and  many  things  are  morally  and 
physically  unclean. 

"I  have  seen  the  devoted  students  of  Hinduism  in  the 
towers  that  overlook  the  Ganges,  in  the  ancient  city  of 
Benares,  men  who  for  twenty  years  have  been  reading, 
under  the  guidance  of  saintly,  unclothed  pundits,  the  in- 


INDIA  AND  JAPAN  365 

terminable  books  which  they  regard  as  the  highest  and 
purest  source  of  spiritual  knowledge,  unmindful  of  the 
degradation,  ignorance,  and  miseries  of  the  huge  mass  of 
idolaters  that  creep  and  suffer  and  die  about  them.  There 
they  spin  their  intellectual  webs;  they  follow  the  devious 
track  of  former  thinkers ;  they  endeavor  to  slake  the  un- 
slakable  at  fountains  that  can  never  satisfy  the  soul.  It 
is  one  of  the  most  ghastly  pictures  of  misapplied  assiduity 
and  ingenuity  that  the  world  presents  to-day.  I  said  to 
these  men  :  'Do  you  not  familiarize  ourselves  with  the 
Christian  Scriptures?'  and  they  replied:  'Before  one  un- 
dertakes anything  new,  he  asks,  what  purpose  will  it 
serve?'  I  replied:  'It  is  worth  your  while  to  know  the 
Christian  Bible,  for  it  has  shaped  the  mightiest  nations 
of  the  world."  They  answered :  'We  have  not  yet  fin- 
ished our  own  scriptures.  We  find  in  them  more  than 
we  can  absorb  and  appropriate.  Why,  therefore,  should 
we  go  elsewhere?'  And  there,  in  their  conceited  lone- 
liness and  abstraction,  they  sat,  and  there  they  will  con- 
tinue to  spin  the  webs  w'hich  may  catch  many  a  fly  and 
darken  many  a  window.  There  they  will  pursue  the 
studies  v.'hich  may  sharpen  the  mind  along  certain  nar- 
row lines,  but  can  never  make  great  souls,  filled  with  the 
passion  of  righteousness  and  the  heroism  of  love." 

In  Benares  he  made  several  addresses,  but  his  main 
work  began  with  more  than  two  weeks  of  constant  speak- 
ing in  Calcutta. 

The  records  of  the  Calcutta  Missionary  conference 
state  that  his  lectures  "were  distinguished  by  their  high- 
toned  earnestness,  their  incisive  force,  their  brave  and 
unambiguous  outspokenness,  their  thorough  grasp  of  the 
great  truths  they  handled,  their  practical  value  as  a  con- 
tribution to  Christian  apologetics,  their  profound  learn- 


370  JOHN  HENRY   BARROWS 

ing,  and  sweet  persuasiveness.  In  them,  the  inaugurat- 
ing series  of  the  lectureship,  were  fulfilled  the  promises 
made  at  its  inception.  They  were  distinguished  by  the 
scholarly  and  withal  friendly,  temperate,  and  conciliatory 
manner  in  which  opponents  of  Christianity  were  referred 
to,  and  by  the  fraternal  spirit  which  animated  all  allu- 
sions to  the  devotees  of  other  religions.  While  the  right- 
ful claims  of  Christianity  were  set  forth  w^ithout  com- 
promise or  hesitation,  they  were  at  the  same  time  set 
forth  in  such  a  way  as  to  secure  the  favorable  interest 
of  the  many  who  would  not  acknowledge  these  claims. 
The  Conference  were  also  struck  by  the  untiring  activity 
which  Dr.  Barrows  manifested  during  his  short  stay  of 
fourteen  days  in  Calcutta,  for  during  that  period  he  ad- 
dressed as  many  as  twenty-two  audiences  in  the  same 
forceful  manner,  never  sparing  himself,  or  in  any  way 
compromising  his  position  as  a  Christian  lecturer,  de- 
sirous of  winning  souls  for  the  Lord  Jesus."  Of  his 
closing  lecture  the  Indian  Witness  of  Calcutta  said  that 
it  "was  a  masterly  presentation  of  the  claims  of  the  Chris- 
tian faith  upon  all  men,  and  in  every  way  a  worthy  com- 
pletion of  what  must  be  regarded  as  the  ablest  course 
of  lectures  on  Christian  subjects  to  which  the  Indian 
community,  of  the  presen'  neration  at  least,  has  been 
permitted  to  listen," 

Besides  his  lectures  and  the  discussions  that  followed 
them,  long  personal  interviews,  almost  every  morning 
with  men  of  dififerent  faiths,  gave  him  opportunities  for 
presenting  Christian  truth,  and  for  removing  difficulties 
in  the  way  of  its  acceptance.  He  has  given  us  some  of 
his  impressions: 

"It  is  a  strange  and  wonderfui  experience  which  comes 
to  an  American  to  find  himself  standing  before  an  audi- 


INDIA  AND  JAPAN  371 

ence  of  dark-skinned,  black-eyed,  white-turbanned,  lightly- 
clothed  Hindus  of  keen  minds  and  to  realize  that  he  is 
about  to  address  a  company  of  men  (I  say  men,  for  no 
Hindu  women,  excepting  a  few  Christian  and  Brahmo 
ladies,  appear  in  public)  trained  in  the  ideas  of  what 
we  call  heathenism;  of  men  who  are  outside  the  thoughts 
and  convictions  of  Christendom.  These  men  have  been 
educated  in  English  government  colleges  and  have  learned 
to  understand  and  to  speak  our  language,  so  I  had 
immediate  access  to  their  minds.  The  purity  and  clas- 
sical beauty  of  the  English  spoken  by  such  men  as  Mr. 
Mozoomdar  and  Justice  Banurji  of  Calcutta  are  my 
delight  and  wonder.  Of  course  most  Hindus  who  learn 
English  gain  only  a  superficial  acquaintance  with  our 
great  tongue.  They  mistake  the  idioms  often-times,  and 
get  our  proverbs  mixed  up.  Principal  Morison  informs 
me  that  one  of  his  young  men  in  a  geography  class  told 
him  that  Bombay  was  distant  from  Calcutta  so  many 
miles,  'as  the  cock  crows.'  A  Calcutta  baker  who  deemed 
himself  an  expert  had  painted  upon  his  sign  these  words: 
'Babu  Chatterjea,  First-class  European  Loafer.'  Some 
of  the  Hindus  are  very  proud  of  their  knowledge  of  Eng- 
lish, an  acquaintance  with  which  is  essential  to  entering 
the  government  service,  and  certainly  the  college  boys 
whom  I  have  met  talk  very  fluently.  They  are  ex- 
ceedingly fond  of  debates,  and  would  have  been  very  glad 
to  remain  several  hours  at  the  close  of  my  lectures  for 
a  discussion  of  the  points  at  issue.  With  all  this  verbal 
contentiousness,  they  are  exceedingly  courteous,  and  this 
courtesy  and  kindness  find  expression  in  a  profusion  of 
garlands  and  gifts  of  fruit,  and  In  speeches,  marked  at 
times  by  oriental  extravagances.  One  Brahman  judge 
in   presenting  me  to  an   audience  modestly  and   appre- 


272  JOHX  HENRY  BARROWS 

datively  said :  'For  me  to  introduce  this  speaker  is  like  a 
mosquito  introducing  an  elephant.' 

"Babu-English  presents  many  laughable  peculiarities, 
one  of  which  pleased  me  greatl)%  The  Pundit  in  Poona 
who  was  teaching  the  Marathi  language  to  one  of  our 
missionaries  was  always  accustomed  to  speak  of  chickens 
as  'the  cubs  of  a  hen.'  The  }'oung  of  different  animals 
in  his  own  language  were  called  by  one  name,  and  when 
he  had  learned  in  his  study  of  English  that  the  offspring 
of  a  bear  were  called  cubs,  he  applied  the  term  indis- 
criminately to  the  offspring  of  all  other  animals.  This 
fact  may  explain  a  certain  item  which  appeared  on  the 
bill  of  fare  at  a  hotel  in  Colombo,  Ceylon.  The  guests 
were  invited  to  partake  of  this  toothsome  viand:  'the 
pups  of  a  goose.'  The  Hindus  are  fond  of  high-sounding 
titles  for  themselves  and  their  friends,  and  I  know  of 
a  missionar)'  who  was  addressed  in  a  letter  in  these  tre- 
m-endous  terms,  'Most  Respectable  Enormit}'.' 

"But  he  who  meets  the  educated  Hindu  mind  in  public 
or  private  discussion  will  find  no  lack  of  acuteness,  if  he 
sometimes  does  miss  a  lack  of  comprehensiveness  and  of 
perfect  candor.  The  Hindu  is  quick  to  detect  the  errors 
and  incongruities  characterizing  the  representatives  of 
western  civilization  and  Christianity,  and  I  never  realized 
more  vividly  what  is  one  of  the  obstacles  to  the  rapid 
progress  of  the  Christian  Gospel  in  India  than  when  at 
the  close  of  a  lecture  on  'Christ,  the  Universal  Man  and 
Saviour,'  a  lecture  presided  over  by  a  Brahman  of  emi- 
nence, and  listened  to  verj-  courteously  by  a  quiet  Hindu 
congregation,  a  drunken  Englishman  staggered  to  his 
feet  and,  with  foolish  words  and  gestures  objected  to  the 
vote  of  thanks  which  these  so-called  heathen  people  were 
about  to  offer  to  a  Christian  lecturer." 


INDIA  AND  JAPAN  373 

In  Calcutta  a  dinner  was  given  in  my  father's  honor  by 
the  Honorable  Justice  Ameer  Ali,  "a  delightful  man  well 
known  throughout  the  world  for  his  literary  champion- 
ship of  Islam."  He  was  given  a  reception  in  the  palace 
of  the  Maharajah  Bahadur,  the  leading  nobleman  of  Cal- 
cutta, by  representatives  of  the  Hindu,  IVIohammedan, 
Jain,  Parsi,  Buddhist,  Brahmo,  and  Christian  communi- 
ties; an  entertainment  where  fine  Hindu  music  and  skil- 
ful Hindu  jugglery  took  the  place  of  food.  Two  of  the 
other  social  pleasures  of  his  stay  in  Calcutta  he  has  de- 
scribed rather  fully:  "On  Wednesday  afternoon  a  re- 
ception w^as  given  us  at  Peace  Cottage  by  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Mozoomdar  which  illustrated  Indian  ways  of  welcoming 
guests.  A  conch  shell  sounded  its  note  as  we  entered  the 
gate.  As  we  drew  near  the  house,  rose-petals  were  show- 
ered upon  us  from  a  balcony.  Mr.  Mozoomdar  was 
dressed  in  the  white  robes  which  he  wears  when  preach- 
ing. Mrs.  Mozoomdar,  who  does  not  speak  English, 
made  an  address  to  Mrs.  Barrows  in  Bengali.  We  were 
garlanded,  and  then  presented  to  the  Brahmo  ladies,  a 
beautiful  group  of  about  twenty  young  women.  Our  host 
made  an  address,  to  which  I  responded,  after  which  some 
remarks  were  made  by  the  Reverend  Air.  Harwood  of 
England.  Incense  sticks  were  burned, — another  note  of 
welcome.  Seventeen  different  kinds  of  fruits  and  Indian 
sweetmeats  were  spread  before  us.  Some  of  these  were 
delicious.  Then  Sanskrit  and  Bengali  hymns  were  sung 
by  the  'Singing  Apostle'  among  the  Brahmos,  to  the  accom- 
paniment of  a  violin  played  by  a  beautiful  young  girl, 
who  also  sang.  Among  the  twenty  Indian  gentlemen 
present,  several  were  Brahmo  preachers.  Before  leaving 
we  were  shown  through  our  host's  pleasant  and  simply 
furnished  cottage.     I  was  glad  to  see  a  marble  cross  stand- 


374 JOHN  HENRY   BARROWS 

ing  on  Mr.  Mozoomdar's  table.  The  hour  we  spent 
in  Peace  Cottage  was  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  our 
lives. 

"Frida)^  January  first,  was  a  novel  opening  to  a  new 
year.  In  the  afternoon  we  accepted  the  invitation  of  the 
Maharani  of  Kuch  Behar,  the  daughter  of  the  late  Keshub 
Chunder  Sen,  to  visit  her  mother  and  herself  at  Lily  Cot- 
tage. A  bell  sounded  as  we  entered  the  yard,  and  'Wel- 
come' in  silver  letters  was  over  the  door  and  stairway. 
It  is  thirteen  years  now  since  the  eloquent  reformer,  the 
best-known  Hindu  of  this  generation,  entered  into  his 
rest.  The  first  day  of  January  is  a  sacred  day  with  the 
family,  who  always  spend  it  at  Lily  Cottage  together. 
On  his  tomb  are  inscriptions  in  four  languages,  and  above 
it  is  a  marble  symbol  composed  of  the  cross,  crescent,  and 
trident.  Within  the  house  garlands,  sweets,  fruits,  tea, 
singing,  and  playing  entertained  us.  The  Maharani  is 
the  wife  of  the  Maharajah  of  Kuch  Behar,  and  is  a  beau- 
tiful and  accomplished  princess.  When  in  England,  she 
was  the  guest  of  the  Queen  at  Windsor  Castle.  The 
^widow  of  Keshub  Chunder  Sen  is  a  sweet  faced  lady, 
rich  in  the  love  of  her  ten  children  and  eighteen  grand- 
children. She  was  glad  to  hear  that  her  husband's  words 
had  been  widely  read  and  were  much  appreciated  in 
America.  A  lovelier  family  and  a  sweeter  family  life  I 
have  never  seen.  The  room  where  the  Indian  reformer 
died  is  kept  as  he  left  it,  and  was  fragrant  with  fresh 
flowers.  The  household  revere  him  not  only  as  husband, 
father,  and  grandfather,  but  also  as  a  prophet.  Two 
portraits  of  Keshub  Chunder  Sen  were  given  us,  together' 
with  a  set  of  his  works.  The  best  utterances  of  this  great 
man  are  among  the  classics  of  the  Spirit." 

He  wrote   to   Mrs.   Haskell:     "'Lady   Haskell'   is   a 


INDIA  AND  JAPAN 375 

liousehold  name  in  India,  and  when  spoken  it  always 
evokes  applause.  I  have  mentioned  the  name  of  Abra- 
ham Lincoln  without  stirring  any  interest,  but  the  men- 
tion of  your  name  brings  on  a  clapping  of  dark-skinned 
and  fair-skinned  hands. 

"You  will  be  glad  to  hear  that  the  educated  non-Chris- 
tians listened  attentively  and  gratefully  and  that  I  was 
told  that  the  3'oung  men  of  Calcutta  were  reading  the 
lectures  with  great  care.  One  educated  Hindu  told  me 
that  it  was  the  first  time  that  he  had  ever  heard  Chris- 
tianity presented  without  abuse  of  other  religions.  But 
O,  how  good  people  were  to  us  in  Calcutta!" 

At  Darjeeling  he  had  his  first  view  of  the  Himalayas. 
He  writes:  "It  is  a  great  moment  when  one  catches  his 
first  glimpse  at  Darjeeling  of  the  giant  backbone  of  the 
world.  Those  peaks,  rising  ten  thousand  feet  above  the 
clouds,  are  of  course  inaccessible.  The  great,  wide- 
stretching  cloud  banks  beneath  give  them  an  airy  appear- 
ance. You  stand  on  Observatory  Peak,  seven  thousand 
feet  above  the  sea,  and  look  down,  down  on  three  sides 
of  you,  into  dark  green  abysmal  depths  and  spaces,  and 
then  lifting  your  eyes  as  they  gaze  northward  above  the 
cloud-forms  you  behold,  forty  miles  away,  white  peak 
after  white  peak  of  unspeakable  beauty  and  grandeur 
soaring  into  the  azure  heavens.  From  their  heights  is 
born  the  Ganges,  issuing  as  the  Hindus  believe  from  the 
feet  of  Vishnu,  gathering  from  those  snows  the  volume 
of  waters  which  has  made  life  possible  to  a  hundred 
millions  of  people.  It  is  almost  impossible  I  found  to 
take  one's  eyes  away  from  the  golden  crown  of  Kinchin- 
junga  and  his  mountain  brothers.  Gazing  toward  those 
heights  one  feels  as  if  he  were  peering  into  the  colossal 
studio  of  the  Divine  Artist." 


376  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

He  writes  from  Delhi :  "More  than  a  dozen  empires 
have  been  lost  and  won  in  battles  about  Delhi.  And 
yet  one  feels  in  this  an  almost  languid  interest,  largely 
because  the  history  lies  outside  the  main  current  of  human 
development. 

"There  are  native  patriots  to-day  who  imagine  that  the 
'simple  life  of  India'  is  preferable  to  the  'luxurious  and 
enervating  civilization'  of  the  West,  I  have  even  been 
asked  if  I  would  like  to  live  the  'simple  life  of  India.'  If 
by  this  expression  is  meant  the  half-clothed  distress,  the 
pitiful  hunger  of  the  many  millions  who,  not  merely  in 
years  of  famine,  but  generally,  live  in  mud  hovels  without 
the  comforts  that  are  enjoyed  by  some  of  the  aboriginal 
tribes  of  North  America,  I  should  neither  like  it  for 
myself  nor  for  the  poorest  and  most  abject  people  of  Eu- 
rope." 

Agra's  contribution  to  his  experience  was,  of  course, 
the  Taj  Mahal.  "Nowhere  else,"  he  says,  "so  fully  as 
in  the  Taj  Mahal  have  I  had  such  a  sober  certainty  of 
the  waking  bliss  of  beauty  and  of  human  love  embodied 
in  architecture.  Standing  beneath  the  dome,  Moslem 
lips  breathed  forth  the  name  of  Allah,  and  melodious 
echoes,  softening  and  dying  away,  brought  back  to  our 
ears  the  sacred  syllables.  The  Palace  Crown  of  Asia  is 
not  out  of  harmony  with  the  spirit  which  ascribes  all 
glory  to  Heaven. 

"Still  Jeypore  was  our  greatest  sensation  since  Benares. 
It  is  a  city  of  pink  houses  and  broad  streets  where  ele- 
phants, monkeys,  cows,  and  tens  of  thousands  of  pigeons 
are  equally  at  home.  Western  civilization  has  done  a 
large  work  beneath  these  Oriental  ways  and  forms.  But 
driving  by  the  fantastic  Hall  of  the  Winds,  or  the  tall 
tower  which  overlooks  the  city,   or  wandering  through 


INDIA  AND  JAPAN  Z77 

the  Maharajah's  palace  and  pleasure-ground  within  which 
his  Highness  employs  and  feeds  ten  thousand  attendants ; 
inspecting  and  buying  the  beautiful  enamel-work  done 
in  the  bazaars;  taking  a  peep  at  the  splendid  tigers,  or 
watching  the  horrible  alligators  snatching  great  pieces  of 
meat  in  the  immense  royal  tanks ;  beholding  the  monkeys 
scampering  along  the  houses,  or  even  gazing  at  the  curious 
and  colossal  instruments  in  Jey  Sing's  Astronomical  Ob- 
servatory ;  and  above  all,  looking  at  the  motley  and  many- 
colored  procession  of  people  moving  along  the  pink  streets, 
which  in  color  and  material  appear  like  the  scenery  of 
some  gorgeous  and  fantastic  stage, — one  loses  sight  of 
everything  Occidental,  and  says  in  his  heart,  'This  is  the 
East,  the  quintessence  of  all  brilliant  and  bewildering 
Orientalism.'  " 

At  Indore,  the  Maharajah,  in  a  long  white  silk  robe  and 
with  bare  feet,  received  them  at  his  palace.  My  father 
writes  of  Indore  and  Ahmednagar,  "The  Maharajah  sent, 
to  our  temporary  home  a  colossal  elephant,  so  that  we 
might  enjoy  a  ride.  He  was  almost  as  tall  as  Jumbo 
and  thicker  set.  He  had  a  back  on  which  a  Hindu  tem- 
ple easily  could  have  been  carried.  After  photographing 
him  we  mounted  him,  four  of  us.  His  elephantine  maj- 
esty, obedient  to  the  stroke  of  the  driver's  iron  rod,  knelt 
down,  and  we  climbed  by  a  ladder  to  seats  in  the  howdah. 
When  he  rose  to  his  feet,  I  thought  for  a  moment  that 
my  lecture  tour  in  India  was  about  to  end !  The  tower 
seemed  on  the  point  of  tipping  over.  Things  came  to 
rights,  however,  and  our  lofty  perch  was  pronounced  a 
delightful  seat,  and,  as  the  elephant-puncher  put  in  his 
work  behind,  and  the  great  beast  trotted  down  the  road, 
we  regarded  our  exaltation  and  locomotion  with  princely 
self-complacency.     For    daily    comfort    and    convenience. 


378  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

however,  give  me  in  preference  to  an  Indore  elephant,  an 
out-door  donkej\ 

"The  Reverend  Robert  A.  Hume,  D.  D.,  of  Ahmed- 
nagar,  has  made  all  the  arrangements  for  my  India  pil- 
grimage, answering  correspondents,  accepting  or  declin- 
ing invitations,  and  furnishing  an  exact  itinerary  down 
to  the  minute  of  our  arrival  and  departure  in  the  case 
of  every  city.  He  is  now  called  'Major  Pond.'  On 
leaving  Indore  we  looked  for\vard  with  great  pleasure 
to  meeting  the  kindly  Major.  He  had  promised  us  two 
days  of  rest  in  his  home.  We  arrived  at  two  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  and,  finding  the  American  mail  awaiting 
us,  closed  our  eyes  in  sleep  about  four.  For  three  suc- 
cessive mornings  the  Major's  sweet  voice  awakened  us  at 
half-past  six.  I  faithfully  submitted  myself  to  the  de- 
tailed programme  which  he  had  arranged,  and  in  the 
two  and  a  half  days  of  our  sojourn  in  his  delightful  home, 
under  his  restful  superintendence,  I  made  six  addresses, 
enjoyed  three  receptions,  visited  four  schools,  went  to  a 
native  concert,  made  several  calls,  attended  service  in 
a  village  church  six  miles  away,  visited  the  famine-relief 
works  seven  miles  from  Ahmednagar,  answered  some 
correspondents,  and  received  many  friendly  visitors.  As 
the  heat  had  destroyed  my  appetite,  I  went  through  these 
days  of  rest  on  the  strength  of  Indian  tea.  One  morn- 
ing we  drove  out  with  several  missionaries,  one  of  them 
on  a  bicycle,  six  miles  into  the  country.  The  Christians 
of  the  village,  knowing  of  our  approach,  came  out  to 
meet  us  with  strange  music  of  horns  and  native  drums, 
escorting  us  to  the  schoolhouse,  which  is  also  the  village 
church.  And  here  I  had  one  of  the  chief  privileges  of 
my  life.  I  was  permitted  to  baptize  two  young  men,  re- 
cent converts  to  the  gospel.     It  seemed  to  me  that  he  who 


INDIA  AND  JAPAN  379 

stooped  to  the  lowliness  of  Bethlehem  and  Nazareth  was 
almost  sensibly  present  in  this  little  meeting-house,  which 
the  dark  hands  of  humble  people  had  decorated  with 
fruits  and  wild  flowers,  out  of  regard  to  one  of  Christ's 
ministers  who  had  come  to  them  from  the  other  side  of 
the  world. 

"On  leaving  Ahmednagar,  with  its  Sabbath  quiet  and 
repose,  we  began  our  journey  to  Poona." 

Poona  was  suffering  that  winter  from  the  plague.  Fires, 
burning  disinfectants,  and  unroofed  houses  where 
death  had  been,  were  the  sights  he  saw  as  he  drove  to 
his  lectures.  At  several  of  these  "Young  Poona,"  Brah- 
man youth,  hostile  to  everything  Christian  and  Western, 
indulged  in  brief  outbursts  of  dissent.  My  father  was 
untroubled.  "The  local  papers,  even  those  most  bitter 
against  Christianity,  read  lectures  to  'Young  Poona'  from 
editorial  pulpits;  but  to  me  this  was  one  of  the  amusing 
and  much  prized  experiences,  which  I  should  have  been 
sorry  to  have  missed.  My  host  in  Poona,  the  Reverend 
John  Small,  of  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland,  informed  me 
that  one  of  his  scholars,  a  Hindu  boy,  was  finally  per- 
suaded that  the  system  of  geography  taught  in  European 
schools  was  true,  and  Mr.  Small  said  to  him:  'What  will 
you  do  now  with  the  Hindu  geography  with  its  seven 
insular  continents  surrounded  by  seven  great  seas,  the  sea 
of  salt  water,  of  sugar-cane  juice,  of  wine,  of  clarified 
butter,  of  curd,  of  milk,  and  of  fresh  w^ater,  with  its 
mountains  tens  of  thousands  of  miles  in  height?  Since 
European  geography  is  true,  what  will  you  do  with  this 
Hindu  geography?'  and  the  reply  was  not  astonishing: 
'I  will  believe  them  both!'  " 

The  last  weeks  of  his  lecturing  he  spent  in  southern 
India  where  he  remarked  still  other  Hindu  ways. 


38o  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

"There  is  still  a  thief  caste  in  India.  I  saw  a  village 
near  Madura  occupied  by  these  people.  Every  midnight 
some  officer  of  the  English  Government  calls  the  roll  of 
the  male  inhabitants  of  the  community.  Nevertheless, 
after  they  have  reported  to  him,  and  he  has  disappeared, 
they  spread  themselves  for  miles  over  the  surrounding 
country,  carrying  on  their  occupation  until  the  sun  rises, 
when  they  are  found  quietly  sleeping  in  their  own  mud 
hovels.  At  the  house  of  our  host  in  Palam.cottah,  the 
men  in  the  hall  outside  of  my  room  who  pulled  the 
punkah  over  my  bed  through  the  night,  both  belonged  to 
the  thief  caste.  I  asked  Air.  Schreenivassa,  the  Chris- 
tian Brahman  who  entertained  us,  why  he  employed 
such  men,  and  he  said  that  they  were  under  contract 
with  him  to  be  responsible  for  all  the  stealing  that  was 
done  in  his  house.  They  were  to  see  to  it  that  no  robbery 
occurred  here,  but  outside  they  probably  pursued  their 
profession   with   commendable   diligence! 

"And  there  is  a  want  of  honesty,  common  truthfulness, 
and  integrity  which  saddens  one  everywhere  in  India.  On 
our  arrival  in  Madura,  we  were  informed  at  the  station 
that  by  special  order  the  jewels  of  the  famous  temple 
would  be  opened  for  our  inspection  the  next  afternoon. 
These  precious  gems  are  enclosed  in  a  great  iron  box  to 
which  there  are  six  separate  locks  and  keys.  Each  key 
is  entrusted  to  a  different  warden  and  without  the  consent 
of  these  six  men,  who  live  in  different  places,  it  is  impos- 
sible to  get  at  the  treasures.  So  profound  is  the  distrust 
which  the  Hindus  have  of  each  other  that  some  of  the 
treasures  are  guarded  by  more  than  twenty  men  in  this 
way,  and  in  Madura  one  of  our  American  missionaries 
was  asked  by  the  priests  of  the  temple  to  take  charge  of 
the  jewels.     He  refused,  and  they  said  to  him:    'How 


INDIA  AND  JAPAN 381 

does  it  happen  that  when  we  have  so  many  gods,  they  do 
not  make  our  people  honest?  You  have  only  one  and 
He  succeeds  in  your  case.  What  we  need  is  to  get  a 
statue  of  your  God  Jesus,  and  put  Him  in  our  temple  by 
the  side  of  our  deities.  Perhaps  that  will  succeed  in 
making  us  honest!'  The  lengths  to  which  the  Hindu 
mind  has  gone  in  its  faith  that  external  rites  and  some- 
thing merely  mechanical  can  produce  sanctity,  are  almost 
incredible.  I  have  seen  men  staggering  in  the  hot  sun, 
bearing  on  their  shoulders  buckets  of  water,  which  they 
had  carried  three  hundred  miles  from  the  Ganges,  in 
order  to  pour  them  into  their  own  rivers,  thus  to  make 
them  sacred. 

"Hindu  civilization — that  immense  and  various  life, 
which  men  have  lived 

'Under  the  southward  snows  of  Himalay' — 

presents  an  example  of  evolution  without  progress,  and 
with  its  dcviousness,  its  glooms,  its  storms,  its  vastness, 
and  its  languors,  may  be  likened  to  the  mystic  and  sinuous 
stream  in  Coleridge's  'Kubla  Khan:' 

'Meandering  with  a  mazy  motion 
Through  wood  and  dale  the  sacred  river  ran, 
Then  reached  the  caverns  measureless  to  man, 
And  sank  in  tumult  to  a  lifeless  ocean.'  " 
The  newspaper  editorials  on  the  Barrows  lectures  are 
interesting.     The    Indian    Christian    Herald,    the    organ 
of  the  Bengali  Christians,  says: 

"The  mission  of  Dr.  Barrows,  it  was  well  understood, 
was  solely  and  wholly  to  commend  to  the  people  the  fit- 
ness of  Christianity  to  become  the  world-religion.  Never 
before  had  a  Hindu  Maharaja's  palace  been  thrown  open 
to  celebrate  the  welcome  of  one  with  so  exclusive  a  mes- 


382  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

sage  to  deliver.  Never  before  had  Hindus,  Mohamme- 
dans, Parsis,  Buddhists,  Jains,  and  Brahmos  vied  with 
Christians  in  wishing  godspeed  to  so  single-purposed  a 
herald.  Nor  was  the  spell  broken  with  the  development 
of  the  mission.  The  prayer  which,  for  the  first  time, 
went  up  from  the  palatial  hall,  'May  the  spirit  of  Jesus 
prevail  still  more  widely  and  pervade  still  more  deeply,' 
was  abundantly  answered.  The  gospel  lectures  found 
among  their  hearers  men  of  light  and  learning,  Hindu, 
Brahmo,  and  Parsi,  who  had  never  before  listened  to  a 
distinctive,  evangelical  appeal.  Nay,  some  of  them  were 
delivered  under  the  acquiescing  presidency  of  Brahmo  and 
Hindu  representatives,  while  all  elicited  from  non-Chris- 
tians and  Christians  alike,  repeated  plaudits  of  approval. 
We  are  firmly  persuaded  that  Dr.  Barrows  has  been  used 
of  God  to  draw  out,  and  make  patent,  some  of  the  invisi- 
ble trophies  of  missions,  and  that  the  outlook  is  bound 
to  be  an  enthusiastic  revival  of  the  missionary  spirit  in 
the  homes  of  missions.  He  has  taken  his  stand  on  the 
same  evangelical  foundations  which  are  exhibited  in  the 
apostolic  mission  of  the  missionaries.  Dr.  Barrows  has 
illustrated,  further,  that,  while  the  recognition  of  truth, 
wherever  it  is  found,  is  an  imperative  obligation  on  the 
part  of  every  true  man,  such  recognition,  properly  viewed, 
is  a  source  of  strength,  rather  than  of  weakness,  to  Chris- 
tianity." 

Soon  after  leaving  India  my  father  wrote:  "The  long, 
low  coast  of  India  faded  from  our  view,  and  that  great 
land  which  drew  to  it  the  covetous  eye  of  Alexander  and 
where  British  adventurers  founded  an  empire  greater 
and  more  durable  than  Alexander's — India,  the  spoil  of 
conquerors  and  the  inspiration  of  poets  and  sages,  the  land 
of  sorrow  and  distress  and  blighting  pestilence,  which  is 


INDIA  AND  JAPAN  383 

to-day  dear  to  the  world's  pitying  heart,  a  land,  too, 
which  is  of  all  lands  the  battlefield  of  the  world's  religions 
— became  for  us  henceforth  a  memory,  a  memory  which 
gathers  to  itself  a  host  of  kindly  thoughts  and  courteous 
deeds  and  friendly  faces,  many  of  them  'dusk  faces  with 
white  silken  turbans  wreathed.'  Land  of  sorrow  and 
struggle,  of  intellectual  greatness;  land  of  gentle  manners 
and  keen  intelligence,  of  undying  hope  and  unwithering 
national  pride, — thou  bearest  on  thy  bosom  the  ashes  of 
Gautama  Buddha,  the  grave  of  Keshub  Chunder  Sen, 
the  peerless  beauty  of  the  Taj  Mahal,  the  throbbing 
hearts  of  millions  who  love  thee  and  who  look  in  faithful 
aspiration  to  God  and  to  a  golden  future  which  shall 
not  fail  thee, — farewell,  and  count  us  ever  among  thy 
lovers,  ready  to  serve  thee,  eager  to  befriend  thee,  unable 
to  forget  thee!" 

His  work  in  India  had  been  no  merely  punctilious  per- 
formance of  duty.  To  it  he  had  given  the  fullness  of 
his  powers  in  a  measure  brimming  over.  It  was,  there- 
fore, not  strange  that  he  felt  on  reaching  Ceylon,  "like  an 
escaped  school  boy,"  that  he  read  psalms  of  praise,  and 
delighted  in  the  "sweet  smells  and  sweeter  sights,  cool 
waters,  blossoming  trees,  happy-faced  children,  and  yel- 
low-robed, calm-browed  priests"  of  this  Buddhist  land. 
At  Kandy  his  tired  mind  and  body  found  those  best  of 
simples,  rest  and  recreation.     He  writes: 

"We  were  introduced  once  more  to  the  juicy  beef- 
steak, and  it  was  the  conviction  of  my  wise  companion 
that  this  steak  represented  about  four  thousand  years 
of  human  civilization.  There  are  a  few  things  in  my 
journey  round  the  world  which  have  impressed  me  so 
deeply  as  the  tropic  vegetation  of  Ceylon.  I  never 
realized    the    force   of   nature's   creative   power,    the   vio- 


384  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

lence  which  sun  and  shower  can  evoke  from  the  potent 
seeds  in  the  earth,  so  intensely  and  with  such  a  shock 
of  surprise  as  when  standing  in  the  Peradeniya  Gardens 
yesterday  I  saw  the  clusters  of  giant  bamboos  shooting 
up  from  the  soil  more  than  a  hundred  feet,  each  one  a 
tree  and  altogether  looking  like  a  vegetable  geyser.  The 
slow  growth  of  the  California  pine  into  its  colossal  di- 
mensions was  less  startling  than  this  sudden  up-springing 
of  a  huge  vegetable  volcano." 

On  the  1 2th  and  13th  of  March  he  lectured  to  large 
audiences  containing  many  Buddhists  in  Wesley  College, 
Colombo. 

From  Ceylon  the  steamer  Yangtsi  carried  them  to 
Singapore,  Saigon,  Hong  Kong,  Shanghai,  and  finally — 
on  April  5,  to  Kobe.  During  his  nineteen  days  in  Japan 
he  gave  twenty-two  addresses  in  Kobe,  Osaka,  Kioto, 
Yokohama,  and  Tokyo,  Perhaps  the  unique  experience 
of  these  weeks  was  that  of  the  dinner  connected  with  the 
beautiful  reception  given  him  in  the  Botanical  Gardens 
of  Tokyo.     He  appreciated  the  honor,  but  not  the  food. 

"About  fifty  of  us,"  he  writes,  "Christians,  Buddhists, 
Shintoists,  and  Confucianists,  sat  down  at  noonday  in  a 
most  beautiful  casino,  surrounded  by  cherry  trees  which 
were  filling  the  air  and  covering  the  paths  with  white  and 
pink  blossoms.  Opposite  me  was  Shibata,  a  high  priest 
of  Shintoism,  a  cheery  and  good-natured  soul,  very  fond  of 
America,  who  made  himself  famous  at  the  Parliament  of 
Religions  by  kissing  an  American  lady  on  the  platform. 
He  had  been  told  that  this  was  in  accordance  with  the 
manners  of  our  country.  He  v.-as  a  very  friendly  mortal 
and  I  shall  not  forget  some  of  his  acts  of  kindness,  even 
while  I  cherish  a  slight  resentment  over  his  hilarity  at  this 
dinner.     There  was  set  before  each  one  of  us  a  covered 


INDIA  AND  JAPAN  385 

bowl  of  soup,  and  I  was  given  a  pair  of  wooden  chop- 
stick  as  my  only  means  of  getting  at  the  steaming  liquid. 
I  had  never  used  before,  and  I  hope  never  to  use  again, 
these  instruments  of  supplying  the  human  mouth  with 
food.  Removing  the  cover  from  my  bowl,  I  plunged 
the  chopsticks,  as  I  saw  others  doing,  into  the  liquid 
depths  and  fished  out, — I  knew  not  what.  It  was  a 
huge  morsel  of  something  which  I  thrust  into  my  mouth 
with  resolute  heroism,  and  began  to  chew.  It  was  a 
piece  of  raw  fish,  a  great  delicacy  in  Japan,  and  I  finally 
swallowed  it,  and  for  three  days  thereafter  continued 
to  taste  it.  The  soup  itself,  which  we  drank  from  the 
bowl,  had  a  fishy  smell  of  great  carrying  power.  I  have 
no  doubt  that  it  would  reach  as  far  as  a  Krupp  gun. 
Clustered  around  this  bowl  were  a  number  of  cold  vege- 
tables, cold  turnip,  cold  carrot,  and  a  solid  paste  made 
from  rice,  quite  as  hard  as  a  chunk  of  India  rubber.  Be- 
sides these  things  there  was  a  whole  fish,  the  one  palata- 
ble thing  on  the  table.  It  had  been  boiled  and  was  stone 
cold,  and  with  the  chopsticks  one  was  supposed  to  be  able 
to  carve  and  manage  the  precious  viand.  My  com- 
panions all  about  me  were  very  skillful  ichthyopagites, 
and  very  active  destroyers  of  all  the  various  delicacies. 
Awkwardly  using  fingers  as  much  as  chopsticks  I  nibbled 
away  at  the  cold  fish,  meditating  all  the  while  on  the 
raw  article  of  the  same  character  that  was  disturbing  the 
internal  workings  of  my  frame.  The  high  priest  oppo- 
site me  had  been  amused  from  the  first  by  my  perform- 
ances and  told  me  through  an  interpreter  how,  when  he 
was  crossing  the  Pacific,  he  hired  a  man  to  come  to  his 
room  every  day  to  teach  him  how  to  use  the  knife  and 
fork.  But  fortunately  for  me,  the  dinner  did  not  last 
very  long,   as   there   were   about   five  hours  of  speaking 


386  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 


expected  in  connection  with  the  reception.  But  a  little 
box  was  brought  to  each  guest  and  into  this,  according 
to  Japanese  custom,  he  put  all  the  fragments  of  food 
which  he  had  not  eaten  to  carry  home  with  him.  I  took 
mine  to  the  house  of  my  host,  Mr.  McNair,  and  he  gave 
it  to  his  Japanese  servants,  who  doubtless  found  it  a 
casket  of  very  great  preciousness." 

His  lectures  in  Japan,  the  welcome  they  received,  and 
the  kindness  of  his  hosts,  but  duplicated  those  of  India, 
and  we  will  but  pause  a  moment  to  look  at  Fujiyama 
through  his  eyes. 

"The  sacred  mount  of  Japan  has  a  charm  all  its  own. 
It  has  the  beauty  of  symmetry  and  whiteness,  of  lonely 
and  sovereign  majesty.  It  seems  like  a  special  creation 
of  the  Almighty  to  dominate  with  its  stately  loveliness 
the  loveliest  of  Eastern  lands,  and  to  fill  the  hearts  of 
its  people  with  proud  and  happy  thoughts.  I  scarcely 
wonder  that  the  people  hold  the  mountain  to  be  sacred, 
nor  that  its  glorious  form  is  constantly  reproduced  in 
Japanese  art." 

On  April  24th  he  and  my  mother  set  sail  for  San 
Francisco.  The  monotonous  weeks  on  the  Pacific,  broken 
only  by  two  days  in  Honolulu,  where  he  preached  and 
lectured,  gave  him  time  to  review  his  pilgrimage.  "We 
have  sailed,"  he  writes,  "under  many  flags,  all  of  which 
we  have  learned  to  love,  under  the  black,  white,  and  red 
of  Germany,  under  the  Union  Jack  of  England  in  our 
cruise  around  the  Mediterranean,  under  the  tri-color  of 
the  French  republic  all  the  way  from  Port  Said  to  Bom- 
bay and  later  from  Colombo  to  Kobe,  and  now  we  are 
on  an  American  ship,  'The  China,'  which  flies  the  British 
flag,  because  since  the  vessel  was  made  in  Great  Britain, 
it  is  not  permitted  to  fly  the  American  flag  without  hav- 


INDIA  AND  JAPAN  2,^7 

ing  paid  an  enormous  duty.  Is  not  this  an  extreme  pro- 
tection which  must  be  changed  to  a  more  reasonable 
policy,  if  we  ever  expect  to  see  the  Stars  and  Stripes 
again  on  all  the  oceans? 

"Many  pictures  pass  before  my  vision,  many  voices 
come  to  my  hearing.  What  leagues  of  ocean,  placid  as 
these  waters,  or  tossed  into  tumbling  crags  of  sapphire, 
stretch  on  and  on  before  my  inner  eye!  Numberless  are 
the  accents  of  kindness  that  float  from  many  lands.  What 
a  multitude  of  strange  faces  throng  around  us, — faces  first 
seen  on  the  decks  of  many  ships,  in  the  halls  of  Paris  or 
Cairo,  or  at  the  gates  of  far  Eastern  cities!  Once  more  the 
muezzin  calls  to  prayer  from  the  minarets  of  Delhi,  and 
I  hear  again  the  Buddhist  drums  in  the  shrines  of  Ceylon 
and  Japan.  The  waters  of  many  rivers  flash  and  mur- 
mur by.  I  see  again  the  twinkling  and  many-colored 
lights  along  the  Seine  and  the  willows  that  shade  the 
Jordan,  the  palms  that  lift  themselves  on  either  bank  of 
the  Nile,  the  strange  boats  on  the  Yang-tse,  the  pilgrims 
and  bathers  in  the  waters  of  the  Ganges,  and  the  peerless 
white  dome  reflected  in  the  loving  bosom  of  the  Jumna. 
And  around  the  habitations  of  men,  some  little  dorf  in 
Germany,  some  prosperous  city  of  England,  Italy,  or 
Japan,  or  some  immemorial  village  of  India,  with  un- 
written laws  and  customs  more  ancient  than  the  statutes 
o.f  Manu  or  Moses,  or  about  some  planter's  home  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Kandy  or  Darjeeling,  what  fields  of 
wheat  and  tea  and  millet,  or  vivid  rice  or  tasselled  corn, 
stretch  on  and  on  before  the  gaze  of  memory!  I  hear 
the  beautiful  choirs  in  English  cathedrals;  I  lift  up  my 
eyes  to  Giotto's  Tower  in  Florence,  and  see  again  the 
fragments  of  the  Parthenon ;  I  hear  the  dervishes  in  their 
wild  and  woful  chants ;  I  walk  by  the  pyramids,  enter 


388  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 


the  sacred  tombs  of  Memphis,  meditate  once  more  on  the 
Mount  of  Olives,  stand  beneath  the  domes  of  churches 
which  rebuke  and  confound  in  their  majesty  all  earthly 
pride;  converse  with  scholars  in  Oxford  or  Benares; 
watch  the  solemn  idolaters  in  the  bat-infested  temple  of 
Madura  or  the  lighter-hearted  pilgrims  who  in  Japan 
call  upon  Amida-Buddha ;  or  lift  up  my  voice  in  Madras 
or  Tokyo  in  the  name  of  the  Universal  Man  and  Saviour, 
and  thank  God  that  I  have  learned  to  love  and  pity  the 
children  of  many  faiths,  and  to  believe  that  the  less  per- 
fect may  be  prophecies  of  that  fulness  of  truth  and  grace 
which  are  found  in  the  Son  of  God. 

"The  human  world,  as  the  traveller  remembers  it,  is 
one  of  bewildering  variety.  And  yet,  underneath  these 
varieties  what  unities  are  discovered ;  what  common 
needs,  fears,  hopes,  and  aspirations!  Humanity,  whether 
it  is  found  among  the  Chinese  coolies  on  the  Bund  in 
Shanghai  or  the  Chowringee  Road  in  Calcutta,  the 
Champs  Elysees  or  the  Unter  den  Linden,  whether  it 
walks  the  Strand  or  the  Corso,  the  Via  Dolorosa  or  the 
Galata  Bridge,  possesses  an  essential  oneness  which  aug- 
menting numbers  of  people  are  coming  to  recognize.  I 
feel  the  solidarity  of  mankind  as  never  before.  Distant 
peoples  do  not  seem  so  distant,  either  in  space  or  in  char- 
acter. In  my  memories  of  our  journey  I  can  scarcely 
recall  a  half-score  disagreeable  experiences.  How  wide 
and  beautiful  is  the  domain  of  kindness." 

They  entered  the  Golden  Gate  with  rejoicing.  "In 
all  the  brilliant  Orient,"  he  tells  us,  "I  have  seen  nothing 
so  grateful  to  my  heart  as  the  sight  of  my  own  country. 
The  heart-hunger  of  the  exile  has  been  ours,  notwith- 
standing all  that  we  have  experienced  of  pleasure."     A 


INDIA  AND  JAPAN  389 

few  days  later  they  were  still  happier,  for  on  May  16 
they  reached  Chicago  after  fifteen  months'  absence,  in  time 
for  my  father  to  open  the  third  course  of  Haskell  lectures, 
in  Kent  Theater,  that  afternoon. 


CHAPTER  XX 

FROM   CHICAGO  TO   OBERLIN 
1 897-1 899 

"The  three  greatest  sights  in  India,"  according  to  my 
father,  "are  the  Himalayas,  the  Taj  Mahal,  and  a  con- 
gregation of  Native  Christians."  Now  that  he  had  seen 
this  last  face  to  face,  he  felt  impelled  as  never  before  to 
proclaim  the  message  that  it  brought  him,  and  there  were 
few  of  his  two  hundred  and  fifty  addresses  during  his 
first  eighteen  months  at  home  which  were  not  reminiscent 
of  it.  Soon  after  his  return  he  gladly  accepted  invita- 
tions from  the  Presbyterian  and  American  Boards  of 
Foreign  Missions  to  present  in  the  larger  cities  of  the 
land  his  impressions  of  mission  work  in  India,  and  he 
added  in  regard  to  remuneration:  "Whatever  I  do  I 
shall  do  from  love  for  the  cause.  I  am  not  willing  to 
receive  anything  for  the  months  of  work  that  I  shall  be 
very  happy  to  give.  The  Lord  blessed  my  undertaking, 
and  the  world  of  Asia  lies  very  close  to  my  heart." 

His  third  and  fourth  Haskell  courses  on  "Impressions 
of  the  Orient,"  and  "Christianity  and  Buddhism,"  his 
summer  school  lectures  at  the  University  of  Chicago,  his 
Morse  Lectures  before  Union  Theological  Seminary,  his 
sermons  while  he  supplied  the  pulpit  of  the  Kenwood 
Presbyterian  Church,  Chicago,  his  Dudlean  lecture  at 
Harvard,  and  many  of  his  secular  addresses  given  under 
the  auspices  of  a  lyceum  bureau,  reveal  his  belief  in  the 
principles  underlying  Christian  Missions,  in  America's 
peculiar  fitness  for  this  work,  in  the  moral  regeneration 


FROM  CHICAGO  TO  OBERLIN 391 

that  whole-hearted  participation  in  it  would  bring  to  our 
country,  in  special  training  for  missionaries,  and  in  the 
largeness  and  unity  of  missionary  activity.  We  quote  a 
little  from  his  creed: 

"This  missionary  century  has  exploded  the  idea  that 
a  pagan  nation  must  first  be  taught  all  the  arts  of  civiliza- 
tion before  it  can  be  ready  for  Christ.  Culture  cannot 
take  the  place  of  conscience ;  conscience  loses  efficacy  when 
men  cease  to  feel  that  God  is  behind  it  and  in  it.  That 
which  is  born  of  the  flesh  may  be  decked  in  silken  robes 
and  set  in  the  midst  of  gardens  and  galleries,  but  it  still 
remains  flesh.  The  missionary  aims  at  vital  transforma- 
tions. He  has  undertaken  Christ's  mission  of  going  to 
the  root  of  human  trouble,  seeking  to  reform  society 
through  regenerating  individuals,  reaching  each  man's 
personality,  and  not  striving  to  convert  nations  en  masse. 

"Missions  to  degraded  races  are  the  most  colossal  piece 
of  idealism  in  the  world.  Prosperous  selfishness  has  al- 
ways sneered  at  them.  It  is  one  of  the  evil  results  of 
luxury,  moral  indifference,  and  increasing  age  that  very 
many  people  cease  to  be  brave  dreamers;  they  have  aban- 
doned youthful  visions,  and  no  longer  live  in  the  future, 
aspiring  toward  ideal  goals.  To  be  despondent  is  to  for- 
get God  and  what  He  has  already  wrought.  Pessimism 
and  atheism  are  owlets  from  the  same  nest.  I  have  not 
discovered  among  those  whose  hearts  are  fired  with  mis- 
sionary enthusiasm  any  disposition  to  despair,  and  rarely 
any  tendency  toward  malignant  cynicism  or  moral  hys- 
terics. In  the  harbor  at  Hongkong  as  we  looked  on  a 
swarming  Chinese  family,  in  a  sampan,  eating  rice,  a 
British  merchant  said  to  me,  'You  can  no  more  Christian- 
ize that  family  than  you  could  a  family  of  rats.'  He 
looked  upon  all  missionaries  in  China  as  victims  of  hys- 


392  JOHN  HENRY  B ARROWS 

teria.  I  suppose  David  Livingstone  had  this  malady  in 
an  exaggerated  form,  but  he  was  the  Columbus  of  Africa, 
and  his  grave  in  Westminster  Abbey  is  more  honored 
than  that  of  kings.  The  Eastern  world  owes  much  to 
the  moral  hysteria  of  those  who  gave  fifty  years  of  schol- 
arly toil  to  the  perfection  of  the  Arabic  Bible  and  have 
kindled  in  Ottoman  lands  the  brightest  lights  that  flash 
on  the  Bosporus  and  the  Euphrates.  The  world  owes 
much  to  the  moral  hysteria  w^hich  is  illumining  Africa, 
diminishing  the  area  of  barbarism  all  over  the  globe,  and 
has  battered  down  the  thousand  gates  which  once  barred 
Asia  to  the  access  of  the  Gospel. 

"Long  familiar  as  we  are  with  the  best  which  Greek 
and  Roman  heathenism  could  teach  us,  and  not  abashed 
by  it,  why  should  we  shrink  before  the  best  which  China 
and  India  can  impart?  In  my  estimation  the  prepara- 
tory training  which  our  candidates  for  the  foreign  work 
require  should  include  the  study  of  comparative  religion. 
I  believe  that  missions  demand  the  highest  class  of 
minds  and  a  wiser  and  humaner  method  in  dealing 
with  faiths,  in  which  truth  and  falsity,  spiritual  beauty 
and  moral  blemishes,  are  so  amazingly  intermingled.  To 
gain  the  non-Christian  populations,  we  must  gain  their 
hearts,  we  m.ust  thankfully  acknowledge  whatever  truth 
we  find  in  their  teachings;  we  must  make  them  love  us 
and  trust  us  before  we  can  make  them  believe  with  us. 
We  need  not  speak  contemptuously  of  the  eight-fold  path 
of  Gautama  Buddha  because  we  believe  in  'the  way,  the 
truth,  the  life." 

"Everybody  knows,  and  many  confess,  that  as  j'et  we 
are  only  playing  at  Christian  missions,  whether  at  home 
or  abroad.  The  Alsatian  pastor,  John  Frederick  Oberlin, 
would  not  permit  even  his  peasant  boys  and  girls  to  come 


FROM  CHICAGO  TO  OBERLIN  393 

to  the  Holy  Communion  until  they  had  furnished  evi- 
dence of  having  planted  two  trees  in  their  rock-strewn 
valley.  It  is  for  us  to  plant  and  nourish  trees  of  ampler 
verdure  and  more  enduring  beneficence,  whose  leaves 
shall  be  for  the  healing  of  the  nations.  We  need  to  per- 
ceive that  home  missions  and  foreign  missions,  that  Chris- 
tian education,  that  our  labors  amid  the  coffee  fields  of 
Porto  Rico,  the  cabins  in  South  Dakota,  and  the  Indian 
huts  of  Alaska,  are  all  parts  of  the  one  great,  divine  mis- 
sionary plan  of  our  Heavenly  Leader." 

Although  this  missionary  work  was  the  paramount,  it 
was  not  the  sole  interest  of  these  months.  He  saw  with 
enthusiasm  the  results  of  the  Spanish-American  war.  He 
prepared  for  publication  his  Barrows  and  Morse  lectures, 
and  his  newspaper  letters,  and  they  appeared  in  book 
form  under  the  titles  "Christianity  the  World  Religion," 
"The  Christian  Conquest  of  Asia,"  and  "A  World  Pil- 
grimage," He  became  interested  in  the  Institute  of  Sa- 
cred Literature  and  President  of  the  Council  of  Seventy. 
Calls  to  churches,  to  colleges,  and  to  leadership  in  other 
lines  of  work,  followed  him  on  his  lecture  tours,  inter- 
rupted his  study  and  proof  reading,  doubled  his  corie- 
spondence,  surrounded  him  with  reporters,  and  tended  to 
keep  his  mand  in  a  state  of  unrest. 

That  he  w^as  working  hard,  still  loved  Chicago,  and 
could  keep  his  poise  in  the  midst  of  clamor  and  uncer- 
tainty is  suggested  by  one  of  his  letters  to  my  mother : 

"Chicago,  Sept.  23,  1897. 

"It  is  a  beautiful  day,  and  I  am  going  to  take  life  a 

little  easier.     Last  night  when  I  went  to  bed,  I  was  too 

tired   to  live.      Hathi  sometimes  piles  his  teak  too   fast, 

you  know.    Yesterday  M.  and  I  went  down  town.    This 


394  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

city  of  ours  has  no  intellectual  side.  One  may  live  here 
for  years  and  not  know  that  there  is  anything  but  pork 
and  wheat  in  the  world.  On  the  train  we  met  Miss 
Bessie  Potter,  who  has  just  returned  from  Florence,  and 
was  going  down  to  unbox  a  lot  of  marble  statuary.  She  is 
the  theme  of  an  article  in  the  last  Century,  called  'A  New 
Era,  or  Motive  in  Art.'  She  has  been  visiting  Saint 
Gaudens,  who  is  delighted  with  his  great  reception  in 
Chicago.  As  we  were  walking  to  the  Art  Institute,  we 
met  Professor  Shailer  Matthews,  who  is  very  glad  to  ac- 
cept an  invitation  to  deliver  a  lecture,  probably  on  the 
Holy  Land.  Entering  the  Art  Building,  I  was  greeted 
very  warm.ly  by  the  old  policeman  and  Mr.  French,  who 
wished  us  to  see  some  new  English  pictures,  and  a  Mu- 
rillo.  We  spent  an  hour  looking  at  things  new  and  old. 
The  Dutch  pictures  are  really  excellent,  and  the  Field 
collection  is  good.  The  building  was  crowded  with 
school  children  who  were  seeing  things  under  the  guid- 
ance of  their  teachers.  We  then  went  to  McClurg's. 
Col.  Davis  introduced  me  to  John  Vance  Cheney,  and 
he  wants  me  to  come  and  see  the  Newberry  Library.  I 
said  to  him,  much  to  his  pleasure  and  confusion,  'There 
is  one  poem  of  yours  that  I  have  used  in  a  sermon  in 
three  continents,'  and  he  told  me  that  I  had  spread  his 
fame  more  widely  than  anyone  else.  I  recited  to  him 
the  verse  beginning: 

'Who  drives  the  horses  of  the  sun 

Shall  lord  it  but  a  day; 
Better  the  lowly  deed  were  done, 

And  kept  the  humble  way.' 

"While  we  were  there  your  friend,  Mrs.  McClelland, 
of   the   North   Side,    appeared.      She   is   putting   through 


FROM  CHICAGO  TO  OBERLIN  395 

the  press  a  story  of  the  Revolution.  On  the  street  we 
met  Dr.  E.  F.  Williams,  who  has  published  a  book  on 
Germany.  He  amazed  us  by  calling  'Quo  Vadis'  a  great 
book.  Then  M.  and  I  went  to  see  the  Logan  statue, 
which  is  the  very  incarnation  of  life,  military  action,  war- 
like sternness,  tremendous  martial  energy.  The  whole 
Lake  Front  from  the  base  of  the  statue  looks  very  well 
indeed.  As  our  afternoon  experiences  show  you,  there 
is  no  gleam  of  literature,  art,  or  celestial  light  in  this 
paradise  of  materialism. 

"I  feel  that  we  are  in  the  way  of  God's  appointment 
and  leading.  I  am  having  some  of  the  freedom  of  spirit, 
the  new  hope,  the  new  longing  to  be  and  to  do,  that 
came  to  me  when  the  old  First  Church  burden  was  rolled 
off.  I  have  been  reading  a  good  deal  this  morning  in 
'Daily  Strength  for  Daily  Needs,'  and  have  felt  the  foun- 
tains of  spiritual  life  reopened  in  me.  Though  I  know 
nothing  of  the  future,  I  never  had  so  little  anxiety  about 
it.     I  must  close  with  a  lake  full  of  love." 

Others  of  his  letters  indicate  the  varied  nature  of  his 
experiences. 

"New  York,  Feb.  19,  1898. 

"I  have  written  your  mother  about  the  concert  at  the 
Waldorf-Astoria.  I  was  sorry  to  learn  of  Miss  Willard's 
death.  I  reached  Boston  at  three.  My  old  friend.  Rever- 
end Albinus  Frost,  who  was  a  student  with  me  at  Olivet, 
met  me  at  the  Park  Square  Station  and  took  me  over  to 
his  home  in  Cambridge,  where  I  had  a  kind  reception. 
After  dinner  Mr.  Frost  went  with  me  to  the  Appleton 
Chapel,  where  my  lecture  was  to  be  given.  Pretty  soon 
President  Eliot  came  in  and  sat  down  by  me.  It  was 
a  rainy  and  slushy  evening,  but  I  had  a  fine  audience. 
President  Eliot  asked  me  if  I  had  received  his  letter,  sent 


396  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

to  Dr.  Hall  at  Union  Seminary,  inviting  me  to  dine  with 
him  and  to  be  his  guest.  He  was  very  much  troubled 
when  he  learned  that  I  had  not  received  it,  for  it  was 
sent  in  time.  Professor  Francis  G.  Peabody  later  asked 
me  if  I  had  received  his  letter  inviting  me  to  dine  with 
him  Saturday  night,  and  to  spend  Sunday  with  him.  He 
wanted  me  to  meet  some  friends.  He  was  sorry  to  learn 
that  the  letter  had  not  reached  me.  After  the  singing 
of  an  anthem  by  the  choir,  I  offered  prayer  and  read  the 
nineteenth  Psalm,  and  at  the  close  we  sang  Oliver  Wen- 
dell Holmes's  ver}^  appropriate  hj'mn,  'Lord  of  All  Be- 
ing, Throned  Afar.'  I  spoke  an  hour  and  five  minutes 
from  a  rather  lofty  pulpit,  but  I  had  good  light  and 
was  in  good  trim,  and  the  audience  seemed  interested. 
After  the  lecture  I  met  some  old  friends.  Professor 
Thaj-er,  of  the  Divinity  School,  was  very  grateful  that  I 
had  'pricked  that  bubble  Swam.i  Vivekananda.'  He  was 
sorry  that  I  could  not  remain  and  accept  his  hospitalities. 
Professor  Palmer  was  there  and  greeted  me  very  cor- 
dially and  brought  the  salutations  of  Mrs.  Palmer,  who 
had  a  meeting  and  couldn't  come.  Professor  Peabody 
thought  that  Paul  Dudley,  the  founder  of  the  lectureship, 
would  have  been  very  much  enlightened  as  well  as 
amazed  at  the  breadth  of  my  treatment  of  the  subject. 
After  the  lecture  President  Eliot  tried  to  capture  me.  I 
agreed  to  go  home  with  him  for  a  little  talk,  but  I  had 
already  engaged  my  passage  back  to  New  York  by  the 
tv.-elve  o'clock  Limited  Express.  We  walked  over  through 
the  snow  to  his  house,  the  President  and  Mr.  Frost  alter- 
nating in  carrj'ing  my  dress  suit-case.  I  told  Mr.  Eliot 
that  I  would  tell  my  children  that  the  President  of  Har- 
vard College  had  carried  my  bag  for  me.  He  said  he  was 
used  to  doing  such  things.     I  like  him  lots.     He  is  a  gen- 


FROM  CHICAGO  TO  O BERLIN  397 

tleman  that  reminds  me  a  little  in  his  cordial  ways,  and 
his  interesting  talk,  of  Wendell  Phillips.  His  house  is  not 
imposing,  but  it  is  very  interesting  and  comfortable  inside. 
He  told  me  about  a  Chinese  teacher  whom  they  used  to 
have  at  Harvard  who  instructed  some  five  or  six  3'Oung 
men  in  Chinese.  He  had  his  eight  children  and  his  wife 
with  him,  and  he  read  to  the  children  every  day  in  the 
sacred  books  of  China.  He  was  taken  suddenly  sick  and 
died  with  pneumonia.  On  his  death  bed  he  called  for 
President  Eliot,  and  though  he  could  hardly  speak  he  used 
all  his  strength  not  to  talk  about  himself  or  his  children 
or  his  family,  but  to  speak  of  each  one  of  the  six  students 
in  Chinese,  telling  the  President  what  marks  they  de- 
served, what  standing  they  had  reached  in  Chinese. 

"We  had  some  pleasant  talk  about  missions,  about 
China,  about  Professor  Norton,  who  has  recently  re- 
signed ;  about  our  observations  of  the  Moslems  in  Egypt. 
Meanwhile,  we  were  eating  roast  oysters  and  drinking 
cocoa.  About  ten  o'clock  we  said  good-bye  to  the  hos- 
pitable President.  He  took  my  New  York  address  so 
as  to  send  me  the  check  for  one  hundred  dollars  which 
Paul  Dudley,  the  founder  of  the  lecture  one  hundred  and 
fifty  years  ago,  instructed  must  be  given  to  the  speaker 
as  soon  as  possible  after  his  address  was  delivered!" 

"June  20th,  1898. 
"I  wish  you  had  been  with  me  on  Woman's  Day  at 
Winfield,  Kansas,  to  have  seen  several  hundred  of  the 
bright,  progressive,  eager-minded  women  of  that  state. 
The  one  peculiar  feature  of  the  Kansas  woman  to  me 
is  her  utter  communicativeness.  It  was  'Sidney  Lanier' 
Day  at  the  Chautauqua  and  Professor  Tolman,  of  the 
University,   read   his   favorite   Lanier  poems.      In   going 


398  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

from  Springfield,  Missouri,  to  Winfield,  I  changed  trains 
at  Wichita  and  a  large  women's  delegation  boarded  the 
train  at  that  place.  Some  one  who  knew  me  spied  me 
out,  and  I  was  introduced  and  had  to  talk  for  an  hour 
to  these  strange  and  lovely  women.  I  found  the  hotel 
at  Winfield  interesting.  The  waitresses  brought  the 
food  on  their  heads,  and  when  thej^  had  delivered  your 
order,  they  were  apt  to  say,  'My  friend,  is  this  all  you 
want?'  I  had  a  great  time  at  Drury  College,  where  I 
met  many  old  friends.  The  attendance  at  Winfield  was 
enormous;  I  must  have  spoken  to  nearly  two  thousand 
people  the  first  evening.  But  a  far  greater  attraction 
gathered  the  crowds  the  day  before.  Bryan  was  there 
and  the  platform  broke  down  under  the  weight,  not  of 
his  eloquence,  but  of  the  crowd." 

"Boulder,  Colorado,  July  17,  1898. 
"I  think  that  you  would  enjoy  the  scene  that  spreads 
before  me  this  morning.  I  am  in  a  thoroughly  man- 
made  town.  The  trees  are  all  set  out;  the  water  that 
rushes  by  was  drawn  by  engineering  skill  from  mountain 
heights;  the  garden  that  surrounds  the  house,  rich  with 
melons,  corn,  peas,  currants,  cherries,  onions,  beets — is 
made  fertile  and  lovely  by  the  irrigating  canals  that  man 
has  drawn  into  it.  But  I  find  enough  of  God's  handi- 
work as  I  look  up.  Those  peaks  in  front  of  me  are  be- 
tween eight  thousand  and  nine  thousand  feet  above  the 
sea.  Those  bare,  mighty  rocks,  smooth  as  a  flat  iron — 
and  called  'The  Flat  Irons' — heaved  up  against  the 
mountain  wall — suggest  the  forces  more  than  Titanic — 
that  worked  their  will  away  back  in  the  earth's  history. 
A  few  miles  away  is  the  'Sunshine'  gold  mine — to  which 
my  landlady's  aged  husband  drives  a  daily  stage.     Tv.-o 


FROM  CHICAGO  TO  OBERLIN  399 

miles  from  here  in  plain  sight  are  the  tents  of  the  Chau- 
tauqua encampment — and  with  silk  flags  flying — like  a 
victorious  battleship — looms  up  the  Auditorium  where  I 
am  to  preach  this  afternoon. 

"Yesterday  a  lady  from  Kansas  came  up  and  informed 
me  that  she  had  read  an  account  of  my  life  before  her 
missionary  society.  O,  life  is  interesting  here !  These 
dear  people  are  out  for  culture  and  they  mean  to  have  it. 
They  frankly  tell  you  so!  They  know  much  about  many 
things.  They  are  grandly  American  and  energetically 
optimistic.  'This  new-born  Chautauqua  is  to  become  the 
educational  center  of  the  continent;'  I  hope  and  believe 
that  they  are  right.  You  would  enjoy  this  new  world 
in  which  I  am.  You  would  deem  Chicago  quiet  and 
restrained  in  comparison  therewith. 

"I  was  sitting  on  a  bench  by  the  office  of  the  Chautau- 
qua Company  last  evening  after  supper.  The  window 
back  of  me  was  open.  I  heard  sounds  strangely  familiar. 
I  listened  in  modest  bewilderment.  I  looked  in  and  there 
a  dazzlingly  beautiful  young  lady,  a  reporter,  was  tele- 
phoning to  the  office  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  News — 
forty  miles  away — my  speech  of  the  afternoon.  Like  the 
barrel  of  beer  for  Mr.  Bartlett's  German  porter,  'it  was 
too  much,'  and  I  ran  away — from  myself. 

"There  is  a  go — a  swing — a  glow — a  rush  to  the  ora- 
tory, especially  from  the  south,  that  I  have  had  in  the 
last  ten  days,  that  would  please  and  somewhat  amuse 
you.  For  example — Reverend  Mr.  W.,  praising  Mr. 
Hirshfield,  who  founded  this  month-old  Chautauqua,  said 
in  loud,  sweet  tones — 'His  nam.e  and  deeds  will  glow  im- 
mortal in  the  annals  of  earth  when  blazing  suns  have  been 
extinguished  in  the  skies!'  There  is  a  lack  of  oratorical 
restraint  here,  which  Smith  girls  would  detect." 


400  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

In  November,  1898,  he  received  a  unanimous  and 
pressing  call  to  the  presidency  of  Oberlin  College.  This 
was  accompanied  by  the  promise  of  the  trustees  to  co- 
operate with  him  in  raising  the  standard  of  scholarship, 
in  putting  the  college  on  a  firmer  financial  basis,  in 
broadening  its  ideals,  and  in  giving  it  a  more  command- 
ing place  among  educational  institutions.  Those  of  his 
friends  that  were  not  Congregationalists  advised  him  to 
decline  this  invitation.  They  believed  the  college  to  be 
so  provincial  in  its  ideas  and  so  conservative  in  its  policy 
as  to  make  sure  and  rapi3  progress  doubtful.  It  was 
true  that  Oberlin  had  been  long  without  a  president,  had 
lost  some  of  its  earlier  prestige,  had  cut  down  its  courses, 
had  a  large  annual  deficit,  many  dissatisfied  alumni,  and 
was  falling  ofT  in  the  number  of  its  students.  To  ac- 
cept this  call  meant  that  he  must  leave  the  city  that  he 
loved,  relinquish  his  freedom  and  the  large  income  that 
his  lectures  brought  him,  and  assume  grave  responsibili- 
ties and  some  uncongenial  duties.  He  had  no  friends 
among  Oberlin's  trustees  and  but  two  acquaintances  on 
its  faculty.  It  was  perhaps  the  only  large  college  in  the 
country  that  he  had  never  addressed.  But  he  was  very 
familiar  with  Oberlin's  emphasis  upon  justice  and  social 
service,  and  with  the  signal  devotion  and  sacrifice  that 
had  made  its  history  sacred ;  to  quote  his  own  words : 
"With  very  limited  means  it  has  done  an  almost  unlim- 
ited work.  More  than  thirty  thousand  men  and  women 
have  come  as  students  under  Oberlin  training,  and  these 
people,  scattered  as  teachers  and  citizens  through  almost 
everj'  village  and  city  of  Ohio  and  the  Middle  West,  and 
even  the  far  West,  have  done  an  incalculable  service  for 
the  higher  life  of  the  country.  Oberlin  was  the  first 
college  to  admit  women  to  equal  and  common  privileges 


FROM  CHICAGO  TO  OBERLIN  401 

with  men  in  a  classical  collegiate  education.  It  opened 
its  doors  to  students,  irrespective  of  race,  and  was  fore- 
most in  the  Anti-slavery  agitation  which  led  up  to  the 
Civil  War  and  the  act  of  Emancipation.  It  may  justly 
be  deemed  the  historic  college  of  the  West,  standing  at 
the  center  of  the  moral  and  spiritual  forces  which  have 
shaped  our  newer  civilization.  It  is  intimately  linked 
with  the  life-work  of  President  Finney,  that  epoch-mak- 
ing force  in  modern  Christendom.  Three  presidents  of 
the  United  States — Hayes,  Garfield,  and  McKinley — 
have  spoken  in  emphatic  eulogy  of  w^hat  this  college  has 
wrought  for  the  higher  life  of  the  country.  The  late 
General  Jacob  D.  Cox  has  shown  that  it  was  the  mighty 
and  incessant  work  of  the  Oberlin  reform.ers  and  the 
thousands  of  Oberlin  students  who  went  forth  as  teach- 
ers, lecturers,  and  missionaries  that  turned  the  scales  in 
the  Anti-slavery  contest,  led  to  the  election  of  Abraham 
Lincoln  and  the  gigantic  results  which  followed,  making 
for  Union  and  Freedom.  America  owes  a  great  debt,  not 
yet  paid,  to  this  historic  college.  Oberlin  students  have 
been  active  doers  in  all  the  fields  of  the  world's  work, 
not  only  as  preachers  and  teachers  in  the  North,  but  in 
foreign  mission  lands,  among  the  Indians,  and  among 
the  African  race  in  the  Southern  States  and  in  the  West 
Indies.  What  Edward  Everett  Hale  has  called  'the 
most  democratic  and  cosmopolitan  college  in  the  country' 
possesses  such  strong  traditions  and  stands  for  such  an 
earnest  type  of  character  that  its  moral  endowment  is 
already  large." 

Unfortunately  for  the  success  of  his  friends'  persua- 
sions, he  went  with  my  mother  to  Oberlin,  to  survey 
the  field  and  lecture  to  the  college.  And  it  came  to  pass 
when   he  looked   into   the   faces  of  a  thousand   students 


402  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 


while  the  foot  ball  captain  led  the  cheering  in  his  honor, 
that  boyhood  memories  rushed  back  upon  him,  the  oppor- 
tunity seemed  large,  and  one  of  those  decisive  spiritual 
experiences  common  to  him  in  crises  of  his  life  marked 
this  college  presidency  as  the  duty  to  which  God  now 
called  him.  He  took  up  his  new  work  on  the  first  of 
January',  1899,  and  his  own  words  spoken  at  different 
times  tell  of  the  college's  attractions  for  him,  his  hope 
for  its  future,  and  his  sympathy  with  its  ideals. 

"As  many,  reading  the  last  chapter  of  Drummond's 
'Ascent  of  Man,'  have  exclaimed,  'Oh,  for  some  one  to 
take  up  and  carrj'  for\vard  his  fine  and  stimulating  sug- 
gestions, and  show  the  later  and  higher  evolution  of  man 
in  recorded  historj^!'  so,  as  I  have  reviewed  what  has 
already  been  accomplished  in  Oberlin,  and  now  behold 
this  hungry,  aspiring,  unfinished  college  world,  the  strong 
appeal  comes  to  me  to  take  up  and  carry  on  this  work 
and  place  it  upon  some  loftier  and  more  radiant  table- 
land. 

"The  founders  of  Oberlin  dared,  for  man's  sake  and 
for  Christ's  sake,  to  be  peculiar.  Surely  this  has  been 
the  distinctive  mark  of  the  leaders  of  our  race,  for  noth- 
ing except  sin  reduces  the  grandeur  of  human  life  like 
inert  gregariousness,  the  making  of  one's  self  like  every 
one  else.  The  world  needs  more  men  and  women  in 
the  conflic';s  of  this  generation  who  bravely  listen  to  God, 
who  are  not  cheated  out  of  their  better  selves  either  by 
the  subtle  temptations  of  sin,  or  by  'the  dull  fool's  palsy- 
ing sneer;'  and  who  have  not  been  smoothed  down  into 
well-shaven  formalists.  Jesus  trained  the  Twelve,  not 
to  make  them  alike,  but  to  make  each  his  Divinest  self. 
And  so  true  education  is  not  making  us  like  others,  but 
bringing  out  to  the  best  and  loftiest  our  own  personality. 


FROM  CHICAGO  TO  O BERLIN 403 

"There  are  special  reasons  to-day  which  show  that  the 
part  taken  by  the  Christian  college  in  our  national  life 
is  growingly  important  and  strategic.  America,  already 
the  richest  of  nations,  is  to  become  far  richer.  Christian 
character  needs  to  be  hardened  and  fortified  against  lux- 
ury. And  'a  manhood  that  can  stand  money'  is  what  the 
Christian  college  aims  to  produce,  and  what  Oberlin 
College  has  produced  in  the  few  men  of  her  graduates 
who  have  given  their  lives  successfully  to  the  getting  of 
great  fortunes.  Education,  refinement,  knowledge,  are 
the  most  powerful  sources  of  misery,  restlessness,  and 
vicious  discontent  that  exist  in  the  world  to-day,  unless 
they  are  penetrated  and  controlled  by  the  religion  of 
Christ,  which  gives  peace,  love,  courage,  faith,  hope,  and 
joy.  Our  civilization  rushes  to  a  vast  and  fatal  plunge 
unless  God  is  enthroned  in  the  educated  minds  of  our 
people.  Education  without  religion  is  architecture  with- 
out foundations  and  roof.  Better  that  the  walls  of  Ober- 
lin should  be  carried  back  to  the  stone-quarries  and  brick- 
yards out  of  which  they  came,  that  the  grass  should  grow 
undisturbed  over  all  the  paths  made  sacred  by  the  feet 
of  saints  and  scholars,  than  that  the  Bible  should  be  a 
merely  tolerated  book,  and  that  this  should  become  a 
place  where  God  is  politely  bowed  out  of  the  classroom. 

"The  helpful,  the  creative,  the  democratic,  the  sym- 
pathetic spirit  has  usually  characterized  the  Western  col- 
lege man.  He  has  been  a  doer  rather  than  a  carping 
critic;  and  one  ounce  of  creative  power  is  better  than 
a  ton  of  fault-finding.  Oberlin  College  has  illustrated 
those  two  Christian  teachings,  'No  man  liveth  to  him- 
self,' and  'We  are  every  one  members  one  of  another.* 

"Oberlin  stands  for  great  positive  truths,  not  for  mere 
negative  prohibitions,  and  the  tw^entieth  century  will  see 


404 JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

a  beautiful  enlargement  of  these  positive  things  in  the 
air  of  expanding  freedom.  We  desire  to  make  Oberlin 
the  best  of  the  Christian  colleges  of  the  world,  where  in 
the  wholesome  environment  of  the  noblest  of  American 
communities,  the  college  training  which  regards  the  to- 
tality of  human  nature,  giving  over  body,  mind,  and  soul 
to  the  educational  processes,  shall  be  growingly  perfected, 
where  the  spirit  of  a  liberal  culture,  displacing  a  selfish 
and  money-making  professionalism,  shall  ennoble  gym- 
nasium, athletic  field,  and  the  toils  of  the  hand,  as  well  as 
the  halls  of  science,  language,  and  philosophy. 

"Oberlin  is  in  deep  harmony  with  the  newer  peda- 
gogy, which  makes  education  vital,  which  connects  the 
schools  with  life,  which  touches  the  feelings  and  rouses 
the  enthusiasms,  which  regards  the  human  mind  not  as  a 
phonograph  merely,  to  report  and  to  repeat  mechanically 
what  is  poured  into  it,  but,  as  a  dynamo,  which  is  to 
furnish  power  for  the  light,  the  movement,  and  the  com- 
fort of  mankind ;  which  realizes  that  inspiration  is  more 
than  knowledge  and  that  noble  feelings  stirred,  and  right 
choices  made,  are  of  more  worth  than  facts  memorized ; 
which  places  a  high  estimate  on  personality  in  education. 
Oberlin  has  always  valued  some  things  more  than  books 
and  apparatus,  than  material  riches  and  the  means  and 
mechanics  of  education. 

"In  going  to  Oberlin  I  feel,  in  one  sense,  that  I  am 
going  home.  It  was  at  Oberlin  that  my  father  and 
mother  first  came  to  know  and  love  each  other,  and 
from  Oberlin  have  come  the  chief  forces  that  have  shaped 
my  life. 

"Oberlin  possesses,  in  a  large  measure,  the  Ideals  which 
I  have  always  preached,  the  ideals  of  true  brotherhood, 
real  democracy,  freedom  from  artificial  temptations,  zeal 


FROM  CHICAGO  TO  0 BERLIN 405 

for  service,  devotion  to  higher  education,  intellectual  lib- 
erty, independent  and  intelligent  patriotism,  and  conse- 
cration to  the  expansion  of  the  divine  kingdom  among 
men,  ideals  which  are  supported  by  the  fresh  young  life 
of  the  students  and  by  the  beautiful  spirit  of  the  com- 
munity. All  good  things  seem  possible  in  a  college  with 
such  a  history. 

"I  deem  myself  highly  favored  among  men  that  I  may 
plead,  however  unworthily,  for  such  a  great  cause.  It 
is  God's  cause.  The  prayers  and  toils  of  the  founders  of 
Oberlin  will  yet  have  a  glorious  fulfillment  and  fruitage. 
I  enter  upon  my  work  with  enthusiasm  and  with  hope- 
fulness; and  when  I  counsel  with  the  brave  and  self- 
denying  men  on  the  ground,  who  have  wrestled  with 
budgets  and  for  years  have  been  made  sore  by  deficits,  I 
have  said  to  myself,  'God  giving  me  voice  and  strength, 
Oberlin's  cause  shall  be  laid  before  the  people.'  " 


CHAPTER  XXI 

HIS  COLLEGE  PRESIDENCY 
1899 — 1902 

As  the  years  went  by  my  father's  guiding  faith  that 
earthly  life  is  but  part  of  a  larger  whole,  served  ever  to 
enhance  for  him  the  fascination  and  significance  of  his 
daily  experience.  And  surely  absorption  in  all  of  life 
because  of  its  momentous  connection  with  more  life  is  a 
spirit  becoming  to  a  college  president.  For  the  expan- 
sion of  the  college  life  committed  to  his  charge,  he  had 
high  hopes.  To  quote  from  his  inaugural  address:  "We 
live  in  the  midst  of  a  divine  evolution,  and  we  cannot 
go  backward  if  we  would.  Progress  does  not  come  from 
trying  to  galvanize  into  life  dead  forms,  nor  by  deploring 
that  men  will  not  do  just  as  their  fathers  did.  Progress 
does  not  fail  to  look  as  well  as  to  move  forward.  'God 
fulfills  his  will  in  many  ways.'  The  Christian  life  of  the 
college  is  marked  by  a  new  emphasis.  Men  talk  less 
about  religion,  but  endeavor  no  less  earnestly  to  do  the 
things  which  God  requires.  We  are  ambitious  here  to 
exemplifj^  the  breadth,  the  liberty,  and  the  glory  of  Chris- 
tianity, and  we  are  not  willing  to  lose  any  of  its  power. 
And  so  we  desire  to  live  in  the  spirit  of  all  that  is  best 
in  the  new  education  without  losing  any  of  the  ethical 
and  spiritual  potencies  of  the  past." 

He  believed  in  Oberlin's  devotion  to  brotherhood  and 
service,  but  he  felt  that  the  way  to  honor  the  past  is  to 
improve  upon  it.  To  increase  the  efficacy  of  that  service 
was  her  present  duty.     While  she  sanctified  herself  fof 


HIS  COLLEGE  PRESIDENCY 407 

the  sake  of  others,  she  must  remember  that  mediocrity  is 
the  lurking  menace  of  democracy,  that  a  college  must  not 
offer  a  mere  semblance  of  education,  must  not  encourage 
ambition  where  ability  is  lacking,  as  she  thus  not  only 
ushers  tragedy  into  individual  lives,  but  so  lowers  her 
standard  as  to  defeat  one  of  her  essential  ends,  the  train- 
ing of  men  for  leadership.  He  perceived,  too,  that  a  com- 
munity rightly  proud  of  its  history  must  guard  somewhat 
against  the  error  of  Judaism ;  the  error  of  the  acorn  that 
refused  to  become  an  oak;  the  mistake  of  confining  what 
God  meant  should  be  universal ;  and  that  a  college  where 
the  moral  and  religious  aspects  of  truth  are  cogent  ought 
to  be  ever  on  the  watch  lest  in  its  devotion  to  conscience, 
its  rectitude  be  marred  by  prejudice,  and  self-satisfac- 
tion; lest  prudishness  and  sentimentality  usurp  the  places 
of  power  and  beauty. 

And  so,  that  Oberlin  might  train  men  for  the  loftiest 
Christian  citizenship,  the  task  to  which  his  own  whole 
life  was  consecrated,  it  was  his  ambition  to  stimulate  her 
enthusiasm  for  a  perfected  intellectual  discipline  and  a 
more  symmetrical  culture.  His  student  talks  abound  in 
references  to  the  aims  of  a  true  college  to  form  in  men 
habits  of  mental  discrimination,  of  facile  and  graceful 
self  expression,  and  of  recognizing  the  variety  and  love- 
liness as  well  as  the  vitality  of  truth.  On  widely  different 
occasions  he  said: 

"It  should  not  be  forgotten  by  us  that  there  are  in 
humanity  vast  varieties  of  mental  and  moral  constitution, 
and  in  our  modern  world  there  are  equally  vast  varieties 
of  educational  influences,  so  that  the  immediate  uniform- 
ity of  belief,  which  our  impatient  dogmatism  sometimes 
seeks,  is  an  impossible  result.  And  therefore  the  spirit 
becoming   in   us   is   that  of   widest   toleration,    the   most 


4o8  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

charitable  construction  of  other  men's  duties,  the  sweet- 
est-hearted love  to  all  who  are  erring,  while  we  cherish 
and  faithfully  tell  whatever  truth  has  given  us  comfort, 
peace,  and  hope. 

"Some  of  us  need  to  abandon  our  ideas  with  regard  to 
growth  in  grace.  If  you  imagine  that  the  Christ-like  man 
is  the  one  who  by  endeavor  and  prayer  and  self-sacrifice 
grows  up  into  a  gigantic  self-complacency,  you  are  cher- 
ishing a  very  common  ideal,  but  it  is  not  the  Christian 
ideal.     A  colossal  prig  is  not  the  perfect  Christian. 

"It  is  to  be  the  business  of  the  Oberlin  Theological 
Seminary  to  train  men  of  capacity,  originality,  and  wis- 
dom, who  have  made  careful  studies  of  the  most  impor- 
tant things,  who  have  been  trained  to  think  clearly  and 
speak  effectively,  who  have  formed  habits  of  work,  and 
who  know  that  they  cannot  be  teachers  of  men  for  long 
years  without  being  faithful  students  of  truth;  men  who 
believe  the  gospel  with  all  their  heart,  who  mean  by  it 
no  narrow  gospel  dealing  exclusively  with  a  few  things; 
men  who  are  thoroughly  manly,  who  have  social  gifts 
and  graces,  who  know  not  only  how  to  be  gentlemen, 
but  appear  like  gentlemen  in  a  world  of  growing  taste 
and  refinement;  men  who  are  sound  and  courageous  and 
true;  men  of  large  hearts,  who  give  spiritual  intensity 
to  their  preaching. 

"This  college  is  no  place  for  the  sluggard,  for  the  in- 
different, for  the  intellectually  dead,  or  the  morally  stu- 
pid. Of  selfishness  and  vulgarity  the  college  is  the  severe 
enemy.  Colleges  and  universities  of  course  emphasize 
things  that  are  essential.  But  they  also  teach  us  to  put 
a  proper  estimate  on  things  that  if  not  always  essential 
are  always  valuable;  leisure,  good  manners,  social  enjoy- 
ment, a  love  of  the  beautiful,  the  means  of  pleasing  the 


HIS  COLLEGE  PRESIDENCY 409 

aesthetic,  as  well  as  the  moral  sense.  These  are  not  un- 
important,  and  the  American  people  know  it,  and  are 
striving,  not  always  successfully,  to  reproduce  the  con- 
ditions which  make  life  more  agreeable  abroad.  We  are 
anxious  to  extemporize  universities,  art  buildings,  and  all 
other  illustrations  of  a  highly  civilized  life.  We  are  im- 
patient of  the  slow  and  rude  and  antiquated,  and  covet 
all  the  fresh  brilliancies  of  Paris  and  Vienna.  We  are 
rightly  not  at  all  like  the  conservative  lady  from  New 
Orleans  who,  visiting  some  friends  on  the  North  side  of 
Chicago,  expressed  her  dislike  of  our  modern  improve- 
ments of  locomotion.  She  hated  the  grip  cars,  she  didn't 
like  the  electric  cars  as  a  means  of  getting  about  the  city ; 
she  wasn't  fond  of  cabs  and  carriages  even.  A  friend  of 
mine  said  to  her,  'What,  then,  do  you  like?'  'I  prefer,' 
she  said,  'the  simple  mule.' 

"The  chief  qualities  of  gentility  are  moral ;  they  strike 
down  to  character.  But  gentility  is  opposed,  not  only 
to  selfishness  of  heart,  but  also  to  provincialism  and  vul- 
garity of  mind.  American  democracy  has  not  produced 
so  many  persons  of  distinction  as  we  had  hoped.  It  has 
been  afflicted  with  a  great  deal  of  social  barbarism,  and 
has  not  been  subdued  by  that  reverence,  which  is,  after 
all,  a  sign  of  the  highest  gentility.  Liberty  and  equality 
are  not  unabated  blessings,  unless  permeated  with  cour- 
tesy and  ruled  by  the  spirit  of  Christian  brotherhood. 

"Properly  pursued  the  college  life,  first  of  all,  gives 
the  student  a  wide  general  culture.  The  uneducated  man 
is  a  man  of  a  parish  and  not  of  the  world.  The  educated 
person  is  one  who  lives  in  an  intellectual  mansion,  with 
windows  on  every  side.  Spaciousness  is  its  fundamental 
characteristic;  the  outlooks  are  wide.  History,  poetry, 
science,  various  forms  of  literature  and  philosophy  have 


4IO  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

built  this  mansion  and  they  inhabit  it  as  gracious  com- 
panions. They  make  one  realize  the  dignity  of  the  hu- 
man spirit.  Some  of  30U  who  saw  the  beautiful  Pan- 
American  Exposition  read  upon  the  Ethnology  Building 
these  words  of  Emerson:  'O,  rich  and  various  man,  thou 
palace  of  sight  and  sound,  carrying  in  thy  senses  the 
morning  and  the  night  and  the  unfathomable  galaxy;  in 
thy  brain  the  geometry  of  the  City  of  God;  in  thy  heart 
the  bower  of  love  and  the  realms  of  right  and  wrong.' 
It  is  only  a  liberal  education  that  fully  realizes  for  men 
this  splendid  eulog}\ 

"There  is  nothing  incompatible  between  Christian 
faithfulness,  earnestness,  and  fruitfulness  and  high  intel- 
lectuality. Religion  is  something  that  should  not  be  dis- 
sociated from  the  intellect. 

"The  new  Oberlin  believes  in  special  training,  and  she 
seeks  for  her  teachers  vigorous  personalities  who  have 
become  thorough  specialists  while  remaining  strong,  win- 
some, all-rounded  men." 

In  this  connection  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  eight 
of  the  twelve  principal  faculty  appointments  made  dur- 
ing his  presidency  were  given  to  those  holding  the  degree 
of  Doctor  of  Philosophy  from  Harvard,  Yale,  Princeton, 
Cornell,  Halle,  Heidelberg,  the  University  of  Michigan, 
and  the  University  of  Chicago. 

His  efforts  were  not  simply  verbal.  Never  was  he 
more  skillful  than  now  in  rallying  men  about  him  to  pro- 
duce desired  effects.  At  times  he  travelled  so  continually 
that  he  would  wTite  home,  "The  heading  for  this  week's 
chapter  is  six  nights  in  a  sleeping-car."  During  the  brief 
three  and  a  half  years  allotted  to  him,  he  called  on  hun- 
dreds of  possible  Oberlin  supporters  all  over  the  country 
and  gave  more  than  four  hundred  sermons  and  speeches 


HIS  COLLEGE  PRESIDENCY 411 

mostly  before  teachers'  associations,  schools,  and  colleges. 
By  this  means  he  spread  Oberlin's  influence,  made  her 
many  new  friends,  and  attracted  to  her  both  more  students 
and  more  kinds  of  students.  Under  his  inspiration  nearly 
$600,000,  not  including  gifts  for  buildings,  were  added 
to  the  college  resources;  this  sum  not  only  removed  the 
annual  deficit,  but  made  it  possible  to  retain  men  of 
power  already  in  the  faculty  and  to  add  to  their  number. 
Through  the  generosity  of  Lucien  C.  Warner,  Louis  H. 
Severance,  and  D,  Willis  James  a  Men's  Gymnasium  and 
a  Chemical  Laboratory  were  built,  and  the  money  se- 
cured for  a  Memorial  Arch.  Other  results  of  his  leader- 
ship were  the  better  adjustment  of  the  college  require- 
ments to  the  best  secondary  schools,  closer  harmony  with 
the  usages  of  the  foremost  American  Colleges,  the  estab- 
lishment of  graduate  scholarships  as  incentives  to  ad- 
vanced study,  considerable  modifications  of  student  regu- 
lations in  the  interests  of  larger  liberty,  the  appointment 
of  a  College  Dean  and  a  College  Secretary,  more  ample 
provision  for  the  teaching  of  the  English  language  and 
literature,  the  strengthening  or  sifting  out  of  poor  stu- 
dents, by  means  of  a  committee  on  deficient  scholarship, 
and  a  reunion  of  all  Oberlin  alumni,  the  special  feature 
of  which  was  the  discussion  of  burning  educational  topics 
by  representative  men  from  American  universities.  He 
gave  courses  of  lectures  to  Freshmen,  on  John  Frederick 
Oberlin,  Books,  and  Methods  of  Study;  to  Seniors,  on 
Ethics,  to  the  Seminary,  on  Comparative  Religion.  He 
was  glad  to  add  to  the  College's  notable  collection  of  pho- 
tographs and  to  lecture  in  connection  with  their  exhibi- 
tion. He  brought  many  of  his  distinguished  friends  to 
speak  to  the  student  body.  He  took  a  lively  interest  in 
the  College  Glee  Club,   athletics,   oratory,   and  .debates. 


412  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

To  the  Oberlin  Conservatory  of  Music  he  gave  his  hearty 
commendation.  He  was  grateful  not  only  for  its  excel- 
lent routine  work,  but  for  its  service  to  the  church  music, 
its  support  of  a  great  chorus,  and  the  eminent  musicians 
that  it  regularly  brought  before  Oberlin  audiences.  By 
means  of  the  hospitality  to  which  he  was  given,  he  stimu- 
lated social  life  among  students  and  faculty  and  brought 
the  community  and  college  into  more  cordial  relations. 
All  that  was  material  in  this  progress  he  considered  im- 
portant, not  in  itself,  but  as  means  to  great  ends,  as  his 
first  Baccalaureate  Sermon  tells  us: 

"Are  the  spiritual  wants  of  mankind  different  to-day 
on  account  of  the  observatory  at  Lake  Geneva,  and  the 
laboratories  at  Gottingen,  and  psychological  experiments 
at  Jena?  Do  electricity  and  liquid  air  and  Roentgen  rays 
make  the  sorrows  and  aspirations  of  our  lives  to  differ 
from  those  of  remotest  time?  When  it  comes  to  our  pro- 
founder  life,  our  abiding  needs,  are  we  essentially  changed 
from  the  men  of  antiquity?  If  you  answer  ^yts'  I  will 
confute  you  out  of  the  pages  of  Homer,  out  of  the  ancient 
hymns  of  India,  out  of  the  drama  of  Job,  out  of  the  in- 
scriptions on  Greek  and  Roman  sepulchers.  Your  holiest 
aspirations  may  be  expressed  in  the  words  of  Sophocles: 
'O  for  a  spotless  purity  of  action  and  of  speech,  according 
to  those  subtle  laws  of  right  which  have  the  heavens  for 
their  birthplace,  and  God  alone  for  their  author,  which 
the  decays  of  mortal  nature  cannot  vary,  nor  time  cover 
with  oblivion ;  for  the  di^'inity  is  mighty  within  them, 
and  waxes  not  old!''' 

In  the  accomplishment  of  most  of  these  results  he 
would  have  been  impotent,  without  the  ardent  and  able 
cooperation  of  those  working  with  him.  So  that  neither 
his  words  nor  achievements  are  the  sum  of  his  service  to 


HIS  COLLEGE  PRESIDENCY  413 

Oberlin.  His  signal  gift  was  his  inspiring,  loving  spirit. 
Neither  student,  teacher,  nor  trustee  stood  long  in  his 
presence  without  a  deeper  sense  of  security  and  hope.  As 
his  friend  Dr.  Francis  E.  Clark  has  written,  "Few  men 
ever  lived  with  power  to  enter  men's  lives  as  he  did." 
So  great  was  his  ardor  for  perfection,  and  so  keen  his 
sense  of  limitations  in  what  was  already  accomplished 
that  we  should  expect  him  at  times  to  be  ruffled  and  dis- 
couraged, yet  good  cheer  and  serenity  of  soul  did  not  fail 
him.  Though  many  of  his  dreams  for  the  new  Oberlin 
are  still  unrealized,  you  could  not  shake  his  faith,  that 
"He  that  soweth  to  the  Spirit  shall  of  the  Spirit  reap  life 
everlasting."  His  power  of  bringing  things  to  pass  was 
only  equalled  by  his  willingness  to  wait.  "It  takes  time," 
he  used  to  say,  "to  turn  mulberry  leaves  into  a  silk  dress." 

"Shortsighted  optimism,"  he  once  said,  "is  not  the  high- 
est wisdom.  It  was  not  in  the  days  before  the  Flood, 
nor  in  the  time  of  Jeremiah,  nor  in  the  days  immediately 
preceding  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem.  And  yet  pessi- 
mism was  not  the  highest  wisdom  in  these  great  catastro- 
phes, for  God  was  wiping  His  slate  for  a  new  writing 
of  better  auguries.  If  we  rise  to  the  height  from  which 
inspired  Truth  looks  on  this  troubled  world,  we  shall 
reach  a  point  from  which  'white  handed  Hope'  may  re- 
veal all  her  beauty  and  her  bliss.  Any  large  survey  of 
the  past  is  a  rebuke  to  despair,  is  a  rebuke  even  to  anxiety. 

"Patience  is  the  concentrated  trust  of  the  soul  in  God. 
Lost  in  the  darkness,  Patience  knows  that  the  sun  will 
yet  find  her,  and  enable  her  to  find  herself. 

"Sometimes  in  our  Northern  climate  the  seed  planting 
is  done  in  the  autumn,  and  thus  it  may  be  in  the  autumn 
of  human  life,  so  that  the  winter  must  intervene,  before 
the  harvesting  is  done.     Be  not  discouraged.  Hope  should 


414  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

live  in  the  heart,  even  when  the  summer  is  over,  and  the 
flowers  have  lost  their  delicate  embroideries,  and  w^hen 

'The  jtIIow  leaves,  or  few  or  none,  do  hang 
Upon  those  boughs  that  shake  against  the  cold. 
Bare,  ruined  choirs  where  late  the  sweet  birds  sang.' 

"The  old  summer  cannot  be  recalled,  and  nature's 
order  knows  no  reversal,  but  on  through  winter's  frost 
and  snow,  the  new  summer  comes,  with  chilled  and  pain- 
ful step,  it  may  be,  and  icy  garments  cold,  but  she  surely 
comes  and  even  to  those  who  sit  in  the  winter  of  the 
spirit  new  violets  are  waiting  the  warmer  skies  to  paint 
them  blue. 

"A  wise  patience  instructed  by  the  oracles  of  Heaven, 
will  not  expect  ever  to  attain  all  its  desires.  The  best 
things  come  in  strange  disguises.  Life  leads  out,  under 
God's  guiding  hand,  into  strange  ways,  but  the  issue, 
though  it  may  not  be  what  we  had  expected,  will  be  some- 
thing essentially  better  and  more  divine." 

Two  great  personal  sorrows  befell  him  during  these 
years,  in  the  deaths  of  Mrs.  Haskell  and  his  brother 
Walter.  Of  Mrs.  Haskell  he  wrote,  "Her  light  will  lie 
along  our  paths  through  all  the  coming  years."  He 
preached  for  his  brother  a  memorial  sermon  in  which  he 
said:  "It  is  perhaps  seldom  that  two  brothers  had  so 
many  things  in  common.  A  tender  history  of  childhood 
together  amid  the  fields  and  forests  surrounding  a  West- 
ern home  is  the  beginning  of  our  common  life.  In  his 
earlier  years  he  had  much  greater  strength  than  I ;  he 
was  far  more  active  in  the  sports  of  boyhood  and  I  had 
supposed  that  he  would  outlive  me.  We  were  nearly  of 
an  age.  We  had  the  same  sports,  went  to  the  same  rude 
schoolhouse,   fished   in  the  same  stream,   'played   Indian' 


HIS  COLLEGE  PRESIDENCY  415 

and  hunted  together,  learned  from  the  same  books,  were 
afterwards  in  the  same  college  and  class  for  seven  years 
and  studied  for  two  years  in  the  same  theological  semi- 
naries. In  Kansas  we  worked  on  the  same  farm,  even 
preached  in  the  same  church.  We  had  similar  hopes, 
joys,  and  enthusiasms.  When  our  lives  separated  the  fel- 
lowship was  scarcely  less  close,  and  in  summers  we  were 
often  together.  There  is  a  certain  appropriateness  that 
his  last  days  should  have  been  spent  in  my  own  home  on 
the  Island  of  Mackinac,  which  was  very  dear  to  him. 
We  shared  similar  views  in  regard  to  the  Christian  life 
and  were  not  separated  in  our  thoughts  about  America 
and  her  relations  to  the  Kingdom  of  Christ  on  earth. 
He  was  the  most  generous  and  appreciative  of  brothers." 
The  losses  of  the  college,  too,  through  the  deaths  of 
some  of  its  trustees  and  teachers,  he  made  his  own.  He 
said  at  President  Fairchild's  funeral :  "For  three  years 
I  have  been  a  message-bearer  from  groups  of  alumni  in 
different  parts  of  the  country,  who  have  sent  him  through 
me  their  messages  of  grateful  and  reverent  love.  It  was 
pleasant  to  see  the  quiet  joy  in  his  face  that  reflected  all 
the  Beatitudes.  A  few  days  ago  I  brought  to  him  a 
grateful  message  from  his  friends  in  Southern  California. 
I  could  not  remain,  as  the  physician  was  in  waiting,  to 
tell  him  all  that  I  had  to  say,  and  his  last  words  to  me 
(and  how  significant  they  are)  were  these:  'We'll  talk 
over  the  rest  of  it  later.'  Those  words  are  a  comfort  to 
all  of  us.  We  shall  not  see  this  Master  in  our  Israel 
again  on  the  streets  which  he  made  radiant  by  his  pres- 
ence, but  it  is  his  faith  and  ours  that  the  fellowships  of 
time  are  to  be  continued  beyond.  From  the  passing  days 
he  took  not  their  poorest,  but  their  best  gifts;  not  a  few 


4i6  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

herbs  and  apples,  but  the  stars  and  kingdoms  of  the  soul, 
and  the  sky  that  holds  them  all." 

He  suffered  deeplj'  over  the  Shansi  Martyrs  and  re- 
joiced in  their  monument  to  be  erected  in  Oberlin  by  the 
American  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  of  which  he  was 
now  a  corporate  member,  "But  their  most  glorious  me- 
morial," he  declared,  "shall  be  the  regeneration  of  an 
empire  and  the  speedier  conquest  of  the  world." 

Among  his  chief  pleasures  were  adding  to  his  friend- 
ships, and  welcoming  to  his  Oberlin  home  many  friends, 
both  new  and  old,  among  them  Drs.  Charles  Cuthbert 
Hall,  Frank  W.  Gunsaulus,  Charles  E.  Jefferson, 
Charles  F.  Goss,  J.  K.  McLean,  Josiah  Strong,  Alice  H. 
Luce,  Samuel  B.  Capen,  Professors  Franklin  H.  Gid- 
dings,  John  R.  Ropes,  and  George  E.  Vincent,  Miss 
Mary  E.  Wooley,  Senator  Jonathan  B.  Dolliver,  Mr.  A. 
C.  Bartlett  and  President  J.  G.  Schurman.  Dr.  Francis 
E.  Clark  has  described  his  welcome: 

"Last  spring  I  was  to  give  a  course  of  lectures  to  the 
theological  students  of  Oberlin.  My  train  was  sched- 
uled to  arrive  at  Oberlin  late  in  the  evening.  It  was  an 
hour  later  than  it  ought  to  have  been.  It  was  raining 
dismally.  I  expected  to  hail  a  cabby,  and  get  up  to  my 
room  at  the  hotel  as  quickly  as  possible, 

"What  was  my  surprise  to  be  taken  by  the  arm,  as  I 
left  the  train,  by  the  president  of  the  college,  and  ushered 
into  the  waiting-room  of  the  station,  which  was  filled 
with  Endeavorers  and  college  students,  where  I  was  wel- 
comed with  the  Oberlin  College  yell,  loaded  with  flowers 
from  the  Endeavorers,  addressed  by  representatives  of 
college  and  churches,  all  under  the  direction  of  the  presi- 
dent, who  had  planned  the  welcome  and  who  did  not 
think  it  beneath  his  dignity  or  unworthy  of  his  time  to 


HIS  COLLEGE  PRESIDENCY 417 

organize  this  little  surprise  for  his  old  friend,  'remember- 
ing that  we  have  been  in  India  together  and  know  what 
a  warm  welcome  is,'  as  he  afterward  explained  to  me. 

"If  my  poor  lectures  had  any  value,  all  that  was  best 
in  them  would  surely  be  brought  out  by  receiving  such 
a  welcome  from  such  a  friend  " 

Characteristic,  also,  was  his  founding  and  Presidency 
of  the  Lemon  and  Soda  Societ,v.  According  to  the  con- 
stitution that  he  drew  up,  its  .-nembers  were  girls  "be- 
tween the  ages  of  ten  and  fifteen,  selected  by  the  Presi- 
dent, helpful  in  the  household,  and  extremely  promising 
in  the  best  things  of  life." 

ARTICLE  III 

The  officers  of  the  Society  shall  be:  President,  Vice- 
President,  Recording  Secretary,  Corresponding  Secretary, 
Treasurer,  Nominating  Committee,  and  Executive  Com- 
mittee.    All  these  offices  shall  be  held  by  the  President. 

ARTICLE  IV 

The  Initiation  fee  to  the  L.  &  S.  Society  is  $1.00,  and 
is  to  be  paid  to  the  new  member  by  the  Treasurer.  The 
annual  dues  are  $.25,  also  paid  by  the  Treasurer. 

ARTICLE  V 

Moneys  received  by  the  members  shall  be  expended  by 
them  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  themselves  and  others 
happy. 

ARTICLE  VI 

Each  member  shall  send  a  letter  to  the  President  once  a 
year. 

Quotations  from  his  letters  may  show  still  other  sides 
of  his  life: 


4i8  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

"The  Denver  Club, 
"Friday,  5  p.  m.,  Feb.  3,  '99. 

"I  am  glad  that  you  are  drinking  in  the  best  kind  of 
inspiration  from  Professor  King.  I  am  still  'a  wandering 
voice.'  This  morning  I  went  out  to  the  University  of 
Denver,  six  miles  out.  Chancellor  McDowell  is  at  the 
head  of  it.  He  is  a  lovely  man.  The  University  has 
fine  buildings  and  one  of  the  great  telescopes  of  the  world. 
About  four  hundred — including  theological  students — 
were  at  prayers.  In  introducing  me  the  Chancellor  said 
that  he  had  recently  written  to  his  friend  Professor 
Bosworth  of  Oberlin  asking  about  the  Oberlin  College 
colors.  Professor  Bosworth  had  enclosed  a  sample  ribbon 
in  his  letter  which  the  Chancellor  showed  to  the  students. 
At  once  there  arose  a  series  of  cheers  followed  by  the 
College  yell.  The  Oberlin  colors  are  precisely  the  Denver 
colors.  Then  the  Chancellor  decorated  me  and  himself 
with  fine  ribbons  and  the  boys  and  girls  applauded.  Of 
course  I  had  their  ears  and  hearts  from  the  beginning. 
Wasn't  it  a  strange  coincidence? 

"Returning  to  the  club  I  met  President  Slocum  of 
Colorado  College  who  is  a  'dear,'  and  we  went  to  a  very 
delightful  luncheon  at  Mr.  and  Mrs.  H.'s.  Mrs.  H.'s 
father  told  a  story  about  a  Connecticut  deacon,  whom  he 
knew.  We  had  been  talking  about  eccentric  prayers. 
There  was  fear  of  a  frost  which  would  destroy  crops  and 
fruits.  This  was  the  prayer :  'Thou  knowest,  O  Lord,  that 
a  south  wind  will  keep  off  a  frost;  Thou  knowest  that  a 
cloudy  night  will  keep  off  a  frost;  Thou  knowest  that  a 
foggy  morning  will  take  off  a  frost;  and  Thou  knowest 
that  we  do  not  wish  to  dictate,  but  only  to  suggest.'  " 

"Chicago,  Oct.  25,  1899. 

"Ann  Arbor  has  pleased  me  greatly.     As  an  evidence  of 


HIS  COLLEGE  PRESIDENCY  419 

the  progress  of  humanity  towards  animals,  I  noted  the 
fact  that  there  were  hundreds  of  fox  squirrels  in  the  town. 
These  would  come  down  the  trees  and  take  nuts  out  of 
your  hand.  The  students  never  disturb  them.  I  heard 
Senator  Frye  of  Maine  speak  last  evening  on  the  work  of 
the  Paris  Peace  Commission.  He  made  a  strong  popular 
argument  for  expansion.  He  said  the  conduct  of  the 
French  press  toward  the  Commission  was  simply  atrocious. 
'But  I  have  no  use  for  France,'  he  said.  His  ignorance 
of  French  was  ludicrous.  He  told  us  a  story  that  went 
the  rounds  of  the  French  newspapers,  which  had  some 
truth  in  it.  'I  practiced,'  he  said,  'for  three  daj's,  on  some 
sentences  for  my  barber,  from  whom  I  was  to  ask  a  sham- 
poo and  a  shave.  After  I  delivered  to  him  my  speech  he 
looked  at  me  in  a  frightened  way  and  asked,  'Are  you 
Dutch?' 

"In  Olivet  I  visited  the  grave  of  my  father  and  mother, 
and  the  home  where  they  lived  so  many  years.  I  saw  the 
memorial  window  which  we  have  placed  in  the  beautiful 
Olivet  Church,  and  I  gave  a  memorial  sermon  in  honor 
of  my  brother  Walter,  before  friends  who  came  in  from 
twenty  miles  around.  Rarely  in  my  mind  has  the  past 
seemed  so  sacred  and  so  near.  Professor  Daniels  drove 
me  to  Pine  Lake,  where  I  used  to  fish  and  swim  and  skate. 
"  'Thoughts  of  childhood  rule  the  full  grown  man.' 
"Mr.  Bartlett  has  just  told  me  a  good  story.  A 
speaker  for  the  Humane  Society  had  given  an  address  on 
pursuing  gentle  measures  with  children.  He  opposed  all 
whipping,  and  all  severe  punishments.  At  the  close  a 
gentleman  stood  up  and  inquired  of  the  speaker  if  these 
were  his  sentiments  only,  or  also  his  practices.  He  said, 
'They  are  my  practices.'     'Then  you  never  strike  your 


420  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

children?'  was  the  inquiry.     'I  never  strike  them,'  he  re- 
plied, 'except  in  self-defense.' 

"When  in  Ann  Arbor  I  received  a  telegram  announcing 
the  horrible  defeat  of  the  Oberlin  football  team.  Some 
one  said  the  Oberlin  boys  were  like  Lazarus:  licked  by 
dogs." 

"Oberlin  College,  Oberlin,  Ohio,  President's  Office. 

"November  13,   1899. 

"My  Sunday  in  Rockford  was  a  beautiful  and  yet 
solemn  one.  I  have  rarely  been  so  moved  as  by  the  morn- 
ing service,  at  which  Dr.  Woodbury  preached.  The  at- 
tendance in  the  evening  when  I  preached  Walter's  me- 
morial sermon  was  too  large  for  the  beautiful  church. 
Sunday  afternoon  I  addressed  the  girls  at  Rockford  Col- 
lege. Monday  I  took  luncheon  with  Merritt  Starr  at  the 
Union  League  Club,  and  met  a  great  many  old  Chicago 
friends.  Starr  told  me  what  he  claims  to  be  Mark 
Twain's  joke  on  me.  In  his  'Following  the  Equator'  you 
remember  he  says  that  nothing  American  is  familiar  to 
the  average  Hindu  except  the  name  of  Washington  and 
the  Congress  of  Religions  held  in  the  Holy  City  of  Chi- 
cago. He  also  says  that  the  Hindu  God  Vishnu  has  a 
hundred  names.  He  tried  to  learn  them.  He  thought 
he  had  learned  them.  But  the  only  residuum  in  his 
mind  after  awhile  was  'John  Henry  Vishnu.' 

"Monday  right  I  gave  my  Rembrandt  lecture  at  the 
Milwaukee  College.  Tuesday,  as  you  know,  I  was  In 
Michigan  Citj^  And  Wednesday  morning  I  was  at 
home.  Friday,  I  went  to  Canton  and  spoke  to  eleven 
hundred  young  people  in  the  High  School  Friday  after- 
noon. In  the  evening  I  had  a  dinner  party  at  Miss  B.'s 
School,     I  greatly  enjoyed   our  old  friends,  Judge  and 


HIS  COLLEGE  PRESIDENCY  421 

Mrs.  Day.  Ke  says  that  there  was  some  grim  humor  at 
the  close  of  the  Paris  Conference.  The  papers  reported 
that  the  Spanish  and  American  commissioners  walked  out 
arm  in  arm  in  a  friendly  way.  One  of  the  Spanish  papers 
said,  'Yes,  the  Spanish  commissioners  walked  out  replete 
with  arguments,  and  the  Americans  stuffed  with  archi- 
pelagoes.' Mrs.  Day  is  very  witty.  You  remember  that 
Tom  Reed,  criticising  the  present  condition  of  things,  said, 
'The  American  people  think  they  can  send  canned  liberty 
abroad.'  When  Mrs.  Day  heard  this,  she  said,  'The 
people  are  right ;  for,  you  know,  liberty  must  be  preserved.' 
I  call  that  worthy  of  Voltaire. 

"Her  husband  when  Secretary  of  State  had  but  few 
offices  to  distribute  among  his  friends.  Only  a  few  could 
be  given  consulates.  He  was  speaking  to  his  wife  about 
the  pleasure  he  had  that  he  could  distribute  a  few  con- 
sulates.    But  she  said,   'But  think  of   the  disconsolates.' 

"When  Judge  Day  went  to  Washington  as  Assistant 
Secretary  of  State,  he  had  a  small  salary,  and  lived  very 
simply.  His  family  turnout  was  a  small  horse  and  a 
small  buggy.  When  Miss  B.  was  a  guest  of  President 
McKinley  at  the  White  House,  Judge  Day  drove  up  one 
afternoon  with  his  tiny  horse  and  buggy,  and  one  of  the 
guards  ordered  him  off.  But  another  guard  said,  'Hold 
on!  He  is  the  Assistant  Secretary  of  State.'  Finally 
Miss  B.  came  out  in  her  white  kids,  and  the  Judge  gave 
her  a  drive.  The  horse  became  frisky  and  balky.  He 
shook  off  part  of  his  harness.  Sometimes  he  would  stop 
then  he  would  go  very  rapidly.  The  first  time  he  jumped 
Miss  B.  said,  'Oh,  how  playful!'  But  soon  she  became 
serious.  Finally  they  met  the  President's  carriage,  a  noble 
turnout.  He  was  sitting  with  his  Secretary,  Mr.  Porter. 
Judge  Day  drew  his  hat  over  his  eyes.     Miss  B.'s  bonnet 


422  JOHy!  HENRY  BARROWS 

was  shaken  to  one  side.  They  hoped  to  pass  unnoticed, 
but  Secretar}-  Porter  said,  'It  is  Judge  Day,'  and  the  Pres- 
ident turned  around  to  look  at  the  disreputable  outfit. 
The  next  day  he  made  the  Judge  give  Miss  B.  a  drive  in 
the  presidential  carriage.  And  he  never  gets  tired  of 
making  fun  of  the  performances  of  that  afternoon. 

"Last  night  I  wrote  an  article  for  the  Congregationalist 
people  at  their  request.  Saturday  morning  I  gave  my 
Sam.  Adams  lecture  in  the  Central  High  School  of  Cleve- 
land to  about  three  hundred  teachers.  The  Principal 
wants  me  to  come  and  address  nine  hundred  of  the  High 
School  students.  There  are  sixteen  hundred  in  the  build- 
ing, but  the  main  room  will  seat  only  nine  hundred.  I 
have  to  write  an  article  for  the  Independent  this  week 
and  to  get  ready  for  my  second  Freshman  lecture,  which 
will  be  given,  I  suppose,  on  Friday." 

"Oberlin,  Dec.  12,  1899.  We  took  dinner  this  even- 
ing at  Mr.  G.'s.  General  and  Mrs.  Cox  were  present, 
and  General  and  Mrs.  Shurtleff.  Mrs.  Cox  told  me  that 
when  she  was  a  young  widow  the  people  of  Oberlin  com- 
plained to  her  father,  President  Finney,  that  her  dress 
was  too  rich  and  costly.  This  criticism  greatly  pained 
her.  One  day  her  father  called  her  into  his  study  and 
examined  her  ven,'  carefully  from  top  to  toe,  and  then  said, 
'Your  dress  is  black  and  plain,  and  I  think  you  are  all 
right.'  This  was  a  great  relief  to  her.  In  those  days 
some  Oberlin  people  supposed  they  had  a  right  to  meddle 
with  other  people's  business. 

"When  Theodore  Tilton  was  here  in  1867,  he  was  the 
guest  of  General  Shurtleff,  and  he  told  the  General  that 
he  admired  President  Finney  above  all  men  on  account 
of  his  perfect  frankness.  General  ShurtlefiE  and  Tilton 
went  to  see  President  Finney.     He  met  the  New  York 


HIS  COLLEGE  PRESIDENCY  423 

editor  at  his  library  door,  and  grasped  him  by  both  hands. 
And  then  a  thought  struck  him.  He  said,  'Theodore, 
did  you  write  those  loose  articles  on  Divorce,  in  the  New- 
York  Independent?'  Theodore  said,  'I  did.'  'Theodore, 
unless  you  repent  you  will  go  to  hell  as  sure  as  you're 
alive.'  This  was  a  degree  of  frankness  perhaps  unex- 
pected. 

"General  Cox  told  us  a  good  story  of  Grant.  It  was 
in  the  winter  of  1863-4.  General  Grant  had  been  made 
Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Department  of  the  ^Mississippi, 
and  came  to  Eastern  Tennessee  at  a  place  called  Straw- 
berry^ Plain.  General  Cox  said,  'We  showed  him  during 
a  cold  day  all  there  was  of  interest,  and  in  the  evening 
the  West  Pointers  gathered  in  a  large  tent  and  told  stories. 
Finally  General  Grant  himself  told  a  story  which  he  said 
was  one  of  the  best  stories  he  had  ever  heard.  John 
Adams  was  entertaining  some  people  at  his  home  in  Brain- 
tree.  As  they  were  going  out  to  dinner,  one  of  his  guests 
saw  a  poor  print  of  Washington,  and  said  to  John  Adams, 
'So  you  have  the  Father  of  his  Country  with  you  ?'  John 
Adams  explained,  'That  wooden-head  made  his  fortune 
by  keeping  his  mouth  shut.'  The  story  is  remarkable  not 
only  as  indicating  one  of  General  Grant's  peculiarities,  but 
also  as  showing  some  of  John  Adams's  feelings  toward 
the  great  Virginian. 

"I  said  to  General  Cox,  'Washington  was  not  fully  ap- 
preciated by  all  of  the  statesmen  who  were  his  contem- 
poraries.' And  he  replied,  'President  Lincoln  suffered 
even  worse.  I  was  in  Washington  toward  the  close  of 
the  war,  and  Henry  Winter  Davis  and  Ben  Wade  gave 
a  luncheon  to  General  Garfield  and  myself.  I  had  come 
up  to  Washington  full  of  enthusiasm  for  Lincoln  which 
most  of   the   soldiers   had.     When   we  would    meet   the 


424  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

Rebel  outposts,  they  would  Hurrah  for  Jeff  Davis,  and  we 
would  Hurrah  for  Abe  Lincoln.  But  Davis  and  Wade 
poured  out  upon  us  a  series  of  bitter  attacks  on  Lincoln  as 
a  man  and  politician.  They  did  not  scruple  to  use  all 
the  bad  words — "baboon,"  "orang-outang,"  etc. — applied 
to  him  by  the  Democrats.  Garfield  good-naturedly 
prodded  them  on,  but  I  was  horrified.'  Statesmen  in 
Washington  did  not  appreciate  the  excellence  of  those 
State  Papers  of  Lincoln's  which  are  now  so  much  ad- 
mired. I  took  pleasure  in  remembering  that  when  I  read 
Lincoln's  Second  Inaugural  in  1865,  I  said,  'Here  is  some- 
thing classical  and  immortal.'  It  seemed  to  me  that 
statesmen  in  Washington  should  appreciate  an  excellence 
which  was  evident  to  a  boy  of  eighteen. 

"Professor  C.  was  present  and  told  a  story  of  a  church 
where  the  choir  were  quarreling.  There  were  two  choir 
leaders,  each  one  of  whom  had  followers.  The  minister 
exchanged  with  a  neighboring  clergyman,  and  the  visiting 
clergyman,  it  was  hoped,  would  do  something  to  heal  the 
troubles.  He  did  not  realize,  however,  how  bitter  was 
the  quarrel  until  he  gave  out  the  hymn.  Following  one 
leader  a  portion  of  the  choir  sang  it  to  one  tune;  and 
following  the  other  leader,  the  remainder  of  the  choir  sang 
it  to  another  tune.  The  visiting  clergyman  determined 
to  change  the  text  of  his  discourse,  and  he  gave  out  these 
words:  'I  hear  that  there  are  divisions  among  you,  and 
I  partly  believe  it.'     The  result  was  a  happy  one. 

"Professor  C.  also  told  of  a  minister  who  when  any- 
thing of  importance  happened  to  his  congregation  usually 
made  reference  to  it  in  his  sermon.  Two  young  people 
of  prominence  had  been  married,  and  they  had  returned 
from  their  wedding  journey;  and  he  gave  out  for  his  text 


HIS  COLLEGE  PRESIDENCY  425 

these  words,  'Abundance  of  peace  so  long  as  the  moon 
endureth.'  " 

"Hotel  Touraine,  Boston,  March  27,  igoo. 

"My  Dear  Boy:  Boston  was  founded  by  the  Duke  of 
Tours  in  1655.  This  Hotel  takes  its  name  from  the  gal- 
lant Duke  who  invented  the  famous  Tureen  in  which  he 
boiled  his  enemies.  Hence  the  expression  'in  the  Soup.' 
The  decorations  of  this  hostelry  reproduce  those  of  the 
Chateau  of  Blois.  There  are  many  Bourbon  lilies 
stamped  all  over  the  Hotel.  They  are  in  threes  and 
usually  of  gilt  to  show  how  wicked  were  the  Bourbons. 
When  you  get  your  hat  ironed  for  fifteen  cents  here — 
they  clap  the  three  golden  or  guilty  lilies  on  the  crown, 
and  this  indicates  also  the  three  nickels  which  the  ironing 
costs.  You  must  see  Boston  and  learn  these  things  for 
yourself.  Your  mother  may  be  glad  to  learn  that  I  had 
shad  for  breakfast  and  thought  lovingly  of  her. 

"Life  may  be  given  in  many  ways,  and  loyalty  to  truth 
be  sealed  as  bravely  in  the  closet  as  the  field ;  so  bountiful 
is  Fate.'  The  'field'  here  referred  to  is  the  ball  field, 
and  the  meaning  is:  'Be  faithful  to  your  books  and  you'll 
win  as  good  a  decoration  as  the  'golden  O.'  " 

"New  York,  Saturday  Evening,  Sept.  8,  1900. 
"I  sit  in  old  Manhattan's  modern  inn. 
Pensive  and  penning  now  my  evening  thoughts. 
Regretful  that  this  narrow  paper  scorns 
Pentameters  that  spread  beyond  its  marge. 
I  cling  to  ancient  ways:  my  mental  size 
Approves  what's  solid,  old,  and  true,  and  loves 
Anti  dis-es-tab-lish-ment-a-ri-ans. 
Anti  dis-es-tab-lish-ment-a-ri-ans 
Are  doubtless  fine  and,  sure  the  longest  men 


426 JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

In  history.     They  furnish  me  a  line 

As  deadly  dull  as  that  of  Tennyson: 

'A  Mr.   Wilkinson,  a  clergyman.' 

I  now  return  from  soaring  fancy's  flight 

To  ways  prosaic — like  the  iron  way 

That  leads  from  Hi-O-Hi  to  Hudson's  mouth. 

I  reached  this  town  on  time  and  took  a  room 

(The  number  is  four  sixty- four  and  cheap) 

And  soon  was  seeing  Ryder,  dear  C.  J,, 

Who  swears  by  Oberlin  and  longs  to  find 

Her  funds.     The  meeting  (A.M.A.)  occurs 

This  year  in  Springfield,  Mass.,  and  our  Miss  Luce 

(I'm  told)   will  soon  be  asked  to  make  a  speech 

Upon  the  education  of  depressed 

And  colored  races !     Whew !     We'll  quickly  make 

A  missionary  of  her  Doctorship! 

This  afternoon  I  heard  a  very  comic  play 

To  music  set  by  Arthur  Sullivan. 

'The  Rose  of  Persia'  it  is  called.     O,   fun! 

Alas,  I  grieved  your  absence  from  the  show! 

We  heard  in  tickling  music  of  the  woes 

Of  men  whose  wives  are  numbered  by  the  score! 

We  saw  the  Persian  harem  dance:  we  heard 

Of  Mahound's  cruelty:   we  saw  the  blade 

The  F^oyal  Executioner  whirled  round 

We  laughed  at  Mad  Hassan  who  loved  to  feed 

The  wicked  poor:  we  saw  him  doomed  to  die 

Yet  by  a  story  true  his  life  was  saved. 

The  Sultan  spared  him  for  a  tale  well  told 

And  ending  happily,  a  tale  of  little  Tom, 

An  Arab  of  the  street  who  dwelt  we  thought 

In  Gutter — Persia — where  such  Arabs  live, 


HIS  COLLEGE  PRESIDENCY  427 

For  there  their  spirits  lightly  leap  and  bound 

Elastic  as  an  India-rubber  ball! 

Such  wit  will  not  uplift  your  saddened  souls. 

Good  night!     I've  just  relieved  my  little  room 

Of  a  Reporter  for  the  prestful  Press. 

A  kiss  all  round  and  joys  be  multiplied 

Such  joys  the  Rose  of  Persia  never  knew. 

The  flight  divine,  methinks  is  o'er.     Your  spouse 

And  father  sinks  to  simple  prose — and  sleep." 

"Hotel  Bellevue,  Philadelphia,  March  2,  1901. 
"I  am  glad  that  you  are  seeing  Gotham  and  hearing 
its  music.  It  will  be  to  you  a  good  preparation  for  the 
wild  delights  and  Bacchanalian  Orgies  of  the  Oberlin 
Sphinx.  I  crossed  the  stormy  North  River  in  safety  and 
followed  Washington  across  the  Delaware  into  the  quiet 
town  of  Philadelphia.  I  am  putting  up  at  this  little  inn 
where  I  manage  to  keep  comfortable.  I  leave  at  12:36 
for  McKinleyville — whither  the  crowds  now  tend.  I  am 
wondering  whether  Lincoln,  the  statesman,  or  Grant,  the 
soldier,  came  out  first  at  the  juvenile  debate.  If  L.  won 
I  shall  not  be  surprised,  if  W.  won  I  shall  applaud. 
Please  give  a  silver  half  dollar  to  W.  if  she  won  and 
please  give  L,  a  half  dollar  (either  in  silver  or  paper)  if 
he  was  victorious.  But  in  case  W.  was  defeated  please 
give  her  fifty-one  cents — and  if  the  hard  battle  at  last 
went  againt  L.  give  him  fifty-one  cents  or  in  both  cases 
and  in  all  cases,  (Nominative,  Genitive,  Dative,  Accu- 
sative, and  Vocative)  charge  the  one  hundred  and  one 
cents  to  me.  I  did  not  find  my  'rich  friend'  at  home  this 
evening — but  I  have  taken  my  revenge  in  buying  an 
umbrella  and  some  gray  cloth  for  coat,  waistcoat,  and 
trousers.     (The  teacher  of  Freshman  English  in  Oberlin 


428  JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

insists  on  the  rhetorical  duty  of  being  specific. )  The  cook 
in  this  Bellevue  Inn  is  'the  finest  in  the  world.'  Let  us 
study  the  menu  together  sometime.  Let  us  come  here  at 
the  twilight  hour  and  settle  the  great  problem  of  life — 
to-wit — whether  a  better  repast  can  be  made  out  of  lobster 
croquettes  a  la  creme  and  boiled  grouse  or — a  rib  of 
terrapin  a  la  Maryland  and  canvas  back  duck.  Be  not 
hasty  in  your  decision.  Do  not  get  cold,  do  not  fall  out 
of  bed,  do  not  break  either  a  radius  or  a  humerus.  Be 
humorous.  Be  yourself.  Dare  to  aim  and  bid  high. 
Take  a  matinee  now  and  then  and  charge  it  to  James  R. 
Severance." 

On  December  31st,  1901,  he  returned  from  Cleveland 
very  happy  at  the  successful  end  of  a  movement  in  which 
Oberlin  had  been  engaged,  to  raise  $300,000,  and  thereby 
secure  $200,000  more,  that  Mr.  Rockefeller  had  offered 
conditionally.  But  he  was  tired  and  the  following  months 
brought  him  little  rest,  which  may  partly  account  for  his 
declination  of  an  invitation  to  take  charge  of  all  of  the 
Congresses  in  connection  with  the  St.  Louis  Exposition 
of  1904.  His  engagements  carried  him  to  California 
where  he  gave  thirty-six  addresses,  among  them  the  first 
course  of  Earl  lectures  before  the  Pacific  Theological 
SeminarJ^  According  to  his  letters  both  Berkeley  and 
Stanford  have  "vast  outlooks  into  the  twentieth  century. 
One  is  overwhelmed  on  the  Pacific  Coast  by  the  possi- 
bilities of  the  American  future." 

Most  of  March,  April,  and  May  he  spent  in  Oberlin, 
glad  to  be  working  at  home,  to  entertain  his  faculty  with 
a  series  of  dinners,  and  to  give  the  Baccalaureate  Sermon 
before  the  Theological  Seminary.  On  May  i8th  he 
preached  in  his  old  Chicago  pulpit,  on  "Lessons  from  the 
Life  of  John  Frederick  Oberlin."     This  sermon,  which 


HIS  COLLEGE  PRESIDENCY  429 

joined  his  old  life  to  his  new,  was  his  last  address.  From 
Chicago  he  went  to  New  Haven  to  a  banquet  in  honor 
of  Professor  Fisher,  and  thence  to  the  meeting  of  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  in  New  York  where  he  rejoiced  over  the 
^nal  action  concerning  the  Revision  of  the  Westminster 
Confession.  On  his  waj^  home,  he  was  prostrated  by  an 
illness  that  proved  to  be  pneumonia,  complicated  by  peri- 
carditis. This  resulted  in  his  death  the  morning  of  June 
3rd,  ten  days  later. 

During  his  illness  the  anxious  crowds  before  the  bulle- 
tin board  from  seven  in  the  morning  until  eleven  at  night, 
the  grave  faces  and  hushed  voices  of  students,  faculty, 
and  townspeople  bore  witness  to  the  love  in  which  he  was 
held.  The  students  gathered  in  a  mass  meeting  and  sent 
him  the  following  message:  "We,  the  student  body  of 
Oberlin  College,  send  to  our  dear  president  our  fullest 
sympathy  and  our  prayer  in  this  great  need.  You  have 
stood  not  alone  for  the  Oberlin  ideals  of  Christian  char- 
acter and  democracy,  but  you  have  stood  also  for  their 
realization  in  the  broadest,  most  liberal,  and  most  modern 
form.  "V'ou  have  ever  been  to  us  all  that  a  noble  president 
could  be,  and  we  pray  that  God  will  spare  you  to  us.  We 
could  not  bear  for  our  own  sake  that  you  should  lack 
now  this  simple  expression  of  our  affection  that  is  ever 
yours."  Such  messages  as  this  and  letters  and  telegrams 
from  absent  friends  filled  his  last  days  with  happiness. 
As  he  struggled  heroically  with  pain,  that  farewell  week, 
his  devotion  to  the  college  for  which  he  had  spent  him- 
self, and  his  tireless  thoughtfulness  of  almost  countless 
friends,  were  hourly  evident.  He  left  loving  messages 
for  scores  of  people,  remembering  by  name  famous  preach- 
ers, men  of  affairs,  parishioners  both  rich  and  lowly,  strug- 
gling students,  his  Oberlin  faculty,  his  hosts  and  hostesses 


430 JOHS  HEXRY  BARROIVS 

in  distant  places,  missionaries  to  far  lands,  and  many 
more.  He  did  not  forget  his  little  girls  in  his  Lemon  and 
Soda  Societ>-  and  requested  that  their  yearly  dues  be 
doubled  when  his  good-bye  was  sent  them.  He  asked,  too, 
that  his  body  might  rest  in  Oberlin  and  that  Manning 
might  be  placed  beside  him.  He  faced  death  wittingly 
with  the  blessed  peace  of  one  about  to  gain  the  crown  of 
life. 

His  burial  was  princely.  For  three  days  no  college 
classes  met,  and  all  Oberlin  business  was  suspended  the 
morning  of  his  funeral.  This  was  held  on  June  fifth,  in 
the  Second  Church  of  Oberlin.  The  speakers  were  his 
minister.  Dr.  H.  M.  Tenney,  the  dean  of  the  college, 
Professor  Henry  C.  King,  who  has  since  become  his  suc- 
cessor, and  Dr.  L.  C.  Warner  of  Oberlin's  Board  of 
Trustees.  Their  loving  words,  the  wonderful  display 
of  flowers  sent  from  many  places,  and  the  strains  of  the 
Gounod  Sanctus  and  Benedictus  sung  by  grieving  students 
helped  to  soften  and  ennoble  the  hard  fact  of  death  and 
to  express  the  sorrow  of  the  Oberlin  communitj-  and  of 
business  men,  educators,  divines,  and  other  friends  who 
had  assembled  from  afar. 

The  casket  was  carried  from  the  church  to  Westwood 
Cemeten,'  by  sevent}-t\vo  young  men  of  the  four  college 
classes.  As  one  of  his  facultj'  has  written,  "He  showed  to 
his  students  even'where  such  courtesy,  such  an  interest 
in  their  sports,  their  studies,  their  spiritual  welfare  they 
could  not  but  feel  that  he  was  their  friend.  It  was  fitting 
that  he  should  be  tenderly  borne  to  his  grave  by  their 
strong  arms, — relay  succeeding  relay,  and  all  eagerly  giv- 
ing this  proof  of  their  love.  As  they  passed  through  our 
streets   between    its  crowds   of  spectators,    their   gracious 


HIS  COLLEGE  PRESIDENCY 431 

service  reminded  us  of  a  similar  scene  depicted  by  Brown- 
ing in  'A  Grammarian's  Funeral:' 

'This  is  our  master,  famous,  calm  and  dead, 
Borne  on  our  shoulders.'  " 

On  the  first  anniversary-  of  his  death,  students  covered 
his  grave  witii  flowers.  The  stone  that  marks  his  quiet 
resting  place  beside  his  oldest  son,  bears  these  words: 

"He  gave 
His  body  to  this  pleasant  country's  earth. 
And  his  pure  soul  unto  his  captain,   Christ, 
Under  whose  colours  he  had  fought  so  long." 

"Looking  steadfastly  on  him  we  sa.v  his  face  as  it  had 
been  the  face  of  an  angel." 

On  the  evening  of  his  burial  a  special  memorial  service 
was  held  in  the  First  Church  of  Oberlin,  of  which  the 
speakers  were  Dr.  Judson  Smith,  Hon.  Charles  Ailing, 
Professor  George  S.  Goodspeed,  Dr.  James  L.  Hill,  Hon. 
Harlow  N.  Higinbotham,  Dr.  Charles  S.  Mills.  We 
quote  from  Dr.  Mills: 

"He  seemed  to  us  to  possess  this  first  quality-  which 
Oberlin  needed — an  exceptional  grasp  upon  the  life  of  our 
own  time. 

"Few  had  mastered  the  art  of  public  speech  as  he  had ; 
few  had  come  to  such  a  courtliness  of  bearing  in  social 
circles;  few  had  become  so  truly  known  to  the  world  as 
he.  The  many  wide  relations  in  which  he  had  stood 
made  it  possible  for  him  to  bring  the  college  into  valuable 
connections  which  it  had  not  before  maintained.  And  so 
he  has  journeyed  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  telling 
the  story  of  the  college,  and  seeking  everyAvhere  those 
whom  he  hoped  to  interest  in   its  welfare.     The  pages 


432 JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

of  the  press  were  open  to  his  facile  pen,  and  in  many  waj^s 
he  has  delineated  the  heroic  history  and  the  strenuous 
struggles  of  this  institution.  Loving  his  home  with  all 
the  devotion  of  the  great  heart  of  a  noble  husband  and 
true  father,  and  having,  as  we  who  knew  him  well  under- 
stood, so  much  to  love  in  that  home,  he  allowed  himself 
rarely  to  tarry  long  within  its  doors.  Now  east,  now 
west,  now  south,  he  coursed  as  some  brave  eagle  in  its 
flight.  What  it  has  meant  to  have  such  a  champion  none 
of  us  can  possibly  measure;  but  that  it  has  contributed 
mightily  to  bring  the  college  into  wide  notice,  to  give  it  a 
new  eminence  among  the  colleges,  to  enlarge  its  resources 
and  constituency,  none  of  us  can  possibly  doubt.  May 
the  seed  that  he  sowed  beside  many  waters  spring  up  and 
bear  an  abundant  harvest! 

"Again,  he  brought  to  the  college  a  new  interpretation 
of  the  glorious  Oberlin  ideas  and  ideals.  Into  this  town 
of  hospitality  he  came,  in  the  most  natural  way,  and  built 
a  beautiful  home,  not  for  himself  and  his  own  merely,  but 
for  the  community,  that  he  might  be  of  the  largest  social 
service. 

"He  brought,  too,  that  trilog}'  of  Christian  graces  which 
have  ever  been  written  upon  the  Oberlin  standard — faith, 
hope,  love.  Faith,  buoyant,  inspiring  faith,  we  have  ever 
had.  But  here  came  a  man,  fresh  from  the  Parliament 
of  Religions,  teaching  us  to  see  the  best  there  is  in  other 
men's  faith,  and  to  build  on  that  until  it  should  blossom 
into  the  glorious  flower  of  faith  in  Christ.  And  hope — 
how  much  it  has  meant  that  a  man  came  into  Oberlin, 
which  must  always  struggle  against  material  limitations, 
with  that  brave,  radiant  face,  that  unquenchable  sunshine 
of  his!  He  was,  in  the  largest  and  most  glorious  sense, 
a  Christian  optimist.     How  he  greeted  and  cheered  every 


HIS  COLLEGE  PRESIDENCY 433 

one!  How  easy  it  is  to  feel  the  hand-clasp  and  see  the 
kindly  smile  with  which  he  ever  met  us.  And  love — When 
he  came  back  from  India  it  was  to  tell  men  that  the  'do- 
main of  fraternity  is  practically  world-wide,  and  that 
the  empire  of  good  will  is  the  most  comprehensive'  the 
sun  looks  upon.  How  true  it  was  that  he  saw  the  best 
there  was  in  any  man,  and  thus  gave  again  a  fresh  inter- 
pretation to  the  Oberlin  ideal  of  loving  helpfulness.  Per- 
haps his  greatest  service  to  us  was  through  his  lofty  ideals 
of  culture. 

"When  ha/e  there  ever  been  grouped  upon  a  single 
platform  those  who  could  testify  to  the  place  of  one  man 
in  the  life  of  such  great  world  movements  as  have  those 
who  have  preceded  me  to-night?  A  metropolitan  pulpit, 
the  greatest  university  of  the  West,  the  mightiest  move- 
ment that  has  ever  taken  place  among  young  people,  our 
great  American  Board,  the  World's  Parliament  of  Re- 
ligions, have  been  in  turn  represented.  And  these  rep- 
resentatives have  not  come  here  simply  to  lay  a  flower 
upon  the  brow  of  this  man,  but  to  tell  what  he  wrought 
through  these  world  affairs. 

"Who  does  not  see — who  has  not  seen — in  these  hours 
his  joyous  face?  Who  has  not  heard  his  words  of  elo- 
quence, lifting  us  up,  up,  up,  to  the  very  gates  of  heaven  ? 
Oberlin  is  a  holier  shrine  than  ever  before.  Never  will 
any  of  us  come  here  without  understanding  that  this  dear 
place  is  the  better  for  this  powerful  and  noble  life,  and 
without   in  spirit  thanking  God   that   he  came." 

Few  men  have  been  so  beloved  as  this  man  cut  down  in 
his  fifty-fifth  year,  at  what  seemed  the  height  of  his 
physical  and  spiritual  power.  From  England,  France, 
Germany,  India,  Japan  and  all  parts  of  America  there 
poured  in  letters  of  sympathy  and  grief  too  personal  and 


434 JOHN  HENRY  BARROWS 

heart  breaking  to  cite.  Friends  in  Switzerland  sent  edel- 
weiss to  cover  his  grave.  There  is  no  need  to  recount 
the  impressive  memorial  exercises  and  eulogies  in  other 
places,  the  gifts  and  verses  in  his  memory,  the  pilgrimages 
to  Westwood,  the  touching  resolutions  of  sorrow  from 
the  organizations  where  his  strength  and  love  had  been 
dominant,  or  the  appreciations  of  him  that  have  appeared 
in  newspapers  and  magazines  the  world  over.  Their  pre- 
vailing sentiment  lives  in  the  words  of  Professor  Charles 
H.  A.  Wager  of  Oberlin,  which  clo^e  this  record  of  a 
beautiful  life. 

"  'The  light  and  fervor  and  convincing  eloquence  of 
his  personal  character!'  What  more  precise  account  of 
the  method  of  President  Barrows  throughout  his  life  ? 
He  was  willing  to  use  the  world's  best  achievements  for 
his  own  high  ends — the  artistic  genius  of  Milton  and  Rem- 
brandt, the  attractions  of  high  place  gained  by  patriotic 
statesmanship,  the  compelling  charm  of  human  wit  and 
sympathy  and  eloquence.  He  gave  us  a  spectacle  of  an 
abounding  interest  in  life,  in  all  its  manifold  expressions 
of  grace  and  power,  an  interest  that  was  only  a  handmaid 
to  his  devotion  to  that  'favor  which  is  life,'  and  that  'lov- 
ing-kmdness  which  is  better  than  life.' 

"Others  think  of  President  Barrows  as  the  great 
preacher,  liberal,  eloquent,  devoted ;  the  ardent  champion 
of  great  causes ;  the  superb  organizer ;  the  captivating  lec- 
turer and  writer.  Those  who  knew  him  remember,  per- 
haps first  of  all,  his  marvelous  personal  power,  his  quick, 
appreciative  sympathy,  the  grace  and  charm  of  all  that  he 
did  and  was,  his  unsurpassed  gift  of  making  himself  be- 
loved. All  this  and  much  more  might  be  said.  Much  of 
it  is  far  too  intimate  and  sacred  to  be  said.  But  as  mem- 
bers of  an  institution  of  learning  and  the  liberal  arts  of 


mS  COLLEGE  PRESIDENCY 435 

which  he  was  the  head,  we  may  properly  think  of  his 
eager  and  unfaih'ng  interest  in  all  that  is  humanly  'lovely 
and  of  good  report,'  in  all  the  noble  activities  that  vivify, 
enrich,  intensify,  the  common  life  of  men.  It  was  char- 
acteristic that  in  his  address  at  the  funeral  services  of 
President  Fairchild,  his  mind  dwelt  almost  exclusively 
upon  the  momentous  events  that  President  Fairchild  had 
witnessed,  of  the  wealth  of  life  that  his  eighty  years  had 
seen.  President  Barrows'  half-century,  too,  was  a  stirring 
time — and  we  may  be  sure  that  he  rejoiced  not  only  to  live 
in  such  a  time,  but  also  to  reflect  that  he  was  contributing 
his  force  towards  the  solution  of  the  great  problems  of  his 
day.  It  was  not  granted  to  him,  as  to  some  of  his  pred- 
ecessors, to  see  the  effect  upon  the  college  of  a  long 
presidency,  but  loyal  and  loving  hearts  will  rejoice  to  per- 
petuate his  influence  and  to  aid  in  the  realization  of  his 
ideal. 

"One  thinks  of  him  sometimes  as  of  Tennyson's  Ulysses 
— an  eager,  though  not  a  restless  spirit,  rich  with  the  gifts 
of  experience,  yet  still  drawn  on  by  gleams  of  'that  un- 
travelled  world,  whose  margin  fades  forever  and  forever.' 
Life  in  all  its  fulness  was  not  too  large  for  his  eager 
spirit  here,  and  into  the  fulness  of  life  we  believe  that  he 
has  entered." 


INDEX 


Abbott,  J.    S.    C,  37. 
Adam's  sin,  175. 
Adams,  John,  423. 

"        Samuel,   30,    138,   285,   339. 
"  "        lecture  on,  57,  422. 

life    of,    145. 
Adelbert   College,    338. 
Advisory    Council    of    Parliament    of 

Religions,   254,   258. 
.^schylus,  191. 

African    Methodist    Church,    340. 
Agassiz,  72. 

Lowell's,   141. 
Agra,   376. 

Ahmednagar,    377,    378,    379. 
Air,  properties   of,  229. 
Akbar,   253,   273. 
Alaska,  393. 
Alcott,    A.    B.,    139,    144. 

"       L.  M.,  144. 
Alden,  E.  K.,  131. 
Alexander,   Dr.,  177. 
Alexandria,  361. 
Alexy,     Prof.,     42,     53,     137. 
Alford,  Dean,  tomb  of,  359. 
Ailing,  Charles,  431. 
Alpine     glacier,     life     compared     to 

an,   324. 
D'Alviella,  Count,  262,  274,  276. 
Ameer  Ali,  261,  272,  373. 
America  and   England,   353,   354. 

faith  in,  246-247. 
American    Board    of    Foreign    Mis- 
sions,  161,   390,   416,   433. 
Church  in  Rome,  103. 
colleges,    149,    403. 
democracy,    409. 
Home    Missionary    Society,    15. 
Reformer's   Series,   261. 
scholars,  94. 

Sunday-school   Convention,   161. 
"Ancient    Mariner,"    344. 
Andover,  liberality  of,  131. 

"         Theological    Seminary,   73, 
128-130. 


Angelo,  Michael,  105,  106,  107,  185, 
280. 

Moses  of,  105. 
Angels,    220-221,    233. 
Ann  Arbor,  23,  418-419,  420. 
Antoinette,  Marie,  90. 
Answers    to    examination    quesiioiis, 

67-68. 
Apostles'  creed,  93. 
Arabian  poets,  120. 
Arabic  Bible,  392. 

"       papers,  362. 
Arbitration,    353. 
Armenian   Church,  259. 
Armour   Institute,  239. 
Arnett,    Bishop,    340. 
Arnold,  Matthew,  180,  238. 

"       Thomas,  27,   102,  263. 
Arreton,  182-183. 
Art  Institute,   239,   394. 
Art  in  Paris,  235. 
Arvonia,  54,  55,  56,  57,  60. 

"        Literary   Society,    57. 

"        Union   Church,   58. 
Arya    Somaj,    276. 
"Ascent  of  Man,"  402. 
Ashitzu,  Zitsusen,  258,  281. 
Asoka,  253,  273. 
Athanasius,  188. 
Atheism,  391. 
Athens,  27,  28,  121,  321,  360. 

Paul  in,  262,  263. 
Atlantic   coast,  218. 
Attleboro,   13. 

Auditorium,   Chicago,   239,   245,   310. 
D'Aumale,  Due,  94,  230. 
Avalanche,  328. 

Babu    English,   371-372. 
Baccalaureate  sermon,  412. 
Bacon,  Dr.,  35,  134. 

L.  W.,  286,  887. 
Ballantine,   Pres.,  338. 
Banurji,  Justice,  371. 
Baptists,  162-152. 


438 


INDEX 


Barrowe,  John,  13. 
Barrows,  John,  13. 
Barrows,  John  Henry — 

his  appearance,  75,  77,  129,  160, 

431,  432,  433. 
his    belief    in    individuals,    242- 

243. 
his  completeness     of     character, 

232-236,    271,   341,   364. 
his  conversion,  20. 
his  courage,  333. 
his  eloquence,  129,  160,  236,  434 
his  family  life,   200-203. 
his  friendships,      130,      198-200, 

413,   416. 
his  God,  223-224. 
his  habits  of  work,  260,  271. 
his  hopefulness,    333,    432,    433. 
his  hospitality,  416,  432. 
his  humility,  320. 
his  idea   of  a  church,  132. 
his  ideal  of  life,  342,  434. 
his    impulsiveness,    76. 
his  joyousness,   61,   74,  76,  148, 

167,  432,  433. 
his  leisure,   180-202. 
his  love  of  beauty,  235,  236. 
his  love  of  country,   246-247. 
his  love  of  country     life,      194- 

198. 
his  love  of  games,  195,   198. 
his  love  of  fishing,   195,  197. 
his  love  of  the  ocean,   78-79. 
his  love  of  life,  434-435. 
his  love  of  men,  211,   217,   251, 

252. 
his  love  of  music,    165. 
his  marriage,    131. 
his  method,  434-435. 
his  opinions,  93-94. 
his  nervous   breakdown,    164. 
his  sorrows,  179,  287,  288,   414. 
his  spiritual  progress,   323. 
his  success,  178-179. 
his  theology,  171-178,  269. 
his  versatility,   202,   203. 
Barrows,    Mrs.    J.    H.,    79,    82,    131, 

132,    180,   224,   287,   291,    292, 

294,   307,    326,   328,    355,    356, 

369,  360,   364,  373,  393. 


Barrows,    John    Manning,    196,    291, 
295,  296,  337,   430. 
death  of,  287. 
Barrows,    Prof.    John   Manning,    12- 
18,   33,    56,    57. 
death  of,  179. 
Barrows,  Mrs.  J.  M.,  11-18,  68,  288. 
Barrows,    Mary    (Mrs.    Leroy    War- 
ren),  56,  57,  60,  63,   68,  73. 
Barrows,   Ransom,  61. 
Barrows,    Walter    Manning,    19,    21, 
23,   29,  30,  32,  35,  37,  51,  57, 
60,    62,    63,    73,    91,   135,    181, 
287. 
death   of,   414. 

memorial   sermon,   414-415,    419, 

420. 

Barrows    lectureship.    The,    302-305, 

311-313,     333,     354-356,     369- 

370,   381-382. 

Bartlett,   A.   C,   288,   291,   292,   293, 

330,   399,  416,  419. 
Bates,  Gen.,  120,  133,  134. 
Bay  View  Assembly,  260. 
Bazaine,   Marshal,  94,   96,   230. 
Beecher  Council,  The,  133-134. 
"        George,  39. 

Henry    Ward,    17,    25,    38, 
40,   41,   43,   45,    46,    47,   48, 
49,  52,  63,  71,  87,  93,  123, 
124,    126,     149,    226,     261, 
279. 
compared    with    Parker^   181. 
compared  with  Spurgeon,  124. 
in    Chicago,    159. 
life  of,  261,  270. 
Beecher,  Lyman,  14,  78. 

Willis,  262. 
Bellevue  Hotel,  427,  428. 
Beloit,  249. 

Beloved   disciple,   160,   210. 
Benares,   366-369,  388. 
Bengali  Christians,   381. 

Hymns,    373. 
Berkeley,  California,  428. 
Bersier,  M.,  87. 
Bethlehem,  112. 
Bible,  The,   211. 

how  to  read,  216. 
scientific  study  of,  833. 


INDEX 


439 


Bible  study,  132. 
Biblical  Christianity,  265. 

"        student,   267. 
World,  312. 
Bismarck,   98,   343. 
Blaine,   Mr.,   151,   248. 
Blarney,   180. 
Blind  beggar,  329. 
Blois,  352,  425. 

Boardman,    George   Dana,   299,   314. 
Board   of  Trade,   239,   246,    332. 
B"-ib2v,   302,   364,   366,   367. 
Bonet-Maury,   Prof.,    316,    329,    330, 

344-350,  352. 
Booth,   General,    310-311. 

"       Ballington,  312. 
Boston,  24,  294. 

Free    Religious    Association    of, 
253. 

Journal,  248. 

ministers,  139,  294. 
address  to,   156-157. 
Bosworth,   Edward   I.,   418. 
Boulder,  Col.,   39S-399. 
Bourgeois,   M.,  346. 
Brahmo-Somaj,  273. 
"Bride  of  Lammermoor,"  296. 
Briggs,   Prof.,   225. 
Bristol,  Frank,  336. 
Brooke,     Stopford,    28,    269. 
Brooks,    Phillips,   165,    270,   293. 
Bronte,    Charlotte,   57. 
Brown,  John,  21,  26,  52,  55. 
Browning,  E.  B.,  122. 

Robert,  269,   431. 
Hall,  357. 
Bruce,   Prof.,  315,  326. 
Bruntiere,   347. 
Bryan,  W.  J.,  398. 
Brydge,   Sir   Edgerton,   27. 
Buddhist  church,   273. 

"        denunciation    of   Christian- 
ity, 274. 
Budington,    Dr.,    45,    134. 
Bulgarian  Church,   259. 
Bunyan,  John,  124,  125. 
Burdett-Coutts,  Baroness,  352. 
Burke,  90. 
Burlingame,  56,   57. 

"  Chronicle,  59,  66. 


Bushnell,  Horace,  134,  269,   270, 
Butler,  Bertha  Anthony,  12. 
"        Charles,   39. 
Father,   295. 
Byron,   17,    104,   203. 

Cable,   G.   W.,  27C. 
Cairo,    109,    359,    360-363,    387. 
Calcutta,  302,  311,  366,  369-375,  388. 
"        Missionary  Conference, 

369-370. 
"         Statesman,    304. 
California,    289-294,    428. 
Calemard,   Col.  and  Mde.,  347,  350, 
Calvary   Church,    155. 
Calvin,  John,   40,   80,  150,   297. 

life  of,  72. 
Calvinism,   39-40,    159. 
Cambridge,    358. 

"  Mass.,   395. 

Cana,   234. 
Canada,  194. 
Candia,  102. 

Candlin,   George   T.,   297. 
Candlish,   James,   177. 
Canterbury,  313,  314,  358. 

"  Archbishop  of,  256. 

Canton,  420. 
Capen,  Samuel  B.,  416. 
Carpenter,  J.   E.,  290,  357-358. 

Philo,  154. 
Cassel,  354. 
Castelar,  295. 
Catholic  archbishops,  259. 
banquet,  294,  295. 
church,  256-257,  273. 
"        church     in     Parliament    of 
Religions,     256-257,     259, 
308-309. 
"         university,    259. 
Central    Music    Hall    preaching   ser- 
vices,  156-159,   166,   241. 
Cesnola,    Gen.,    120. 
Ceylon,   383-384,   387. 
Chaldean  archbishop,   361. 
Chamouni,   83-86,   344. 
Chapin,  E.  H.,  49-50. 
Charbonnel,  Abbe,  329,  350. 
Chautauqua,  249,  313,  397,  399, 
Cheney,  John  Vance,  394. 


440 


INDEX 


Chicago,   24,   56,   101,   237,    389,   420, 
428. 
appeal  of,  237,  238,  393. 
Archbishop    of,    295. 
business  men,  258. 
growth  of,  238,  239. 
intellectual   side   of,   394. 
Literary    Club,    281,    329,    331, 

339. 
Presbytery,    171,   178,   199,   296, 

333. 
Press,   274,    334. 
Princeton   Club,  199. 
University    of,    239,    297,    301, 
304,    320,    322,    332,    390,    410. 
Chillicothe,   14. 
China,   263,   264,   265,  266. 
Chinese   Government,   258,   273. 
Christ,    at    Parliament   of   Religions, 
299. 
attractiveness  of,  208. 
crowning  of,  210. 
in   preaching,   205-210. 
personality  of,  220,  231. 
"Christian    Conquest   of   Asia,"   393. 
"         Endeavor         Convention, 

129,  250,  260. 
"         Endeavor     Society,     166, 

204,  249. 
"         Endeavor     Society,     trus- 
tees of,  338. 
"         unity,  265. 
Christianity,  eclipse  of,   266. 

evidence   of,    217. 
"Christianity   the    World    Religion," 

393. 
Christmas,  celebration  of,  201. 
Chrysostom,    225,   250. 
Citizens'  League,  241. 
Clark,     Francis     E.,    129,    205,     338, 

339,   413,   416. 
Cleveland  Congregational  Club,  338. 

"         Grover,  270. 
Clough,  A.   H.,  122,  143. 
Coe,  Dr.,  87. 
Coeducation,  93. 
Coleridge,  86,  344,  381. 
Coligni,    150,    346. 
Colleges,  aims  of,  407,  408. 
Christian,   403-404. 


Colombo,    372,    384. 

Colosseum,  104,  210. 

Colorado   College,   418. 

Columbian  Exposition,  225,  253,  266. 

inscriptions    for,    266-267. 
Comba,  Emilio,  276. 
Comenius,  John,   253. 
Common  soldier,  247-248. 
Comparative  religion,  281,  312,   392, 
411. 

lectureship  on,  300. 

professor  of,  301. 

textbook  of,  298. 

value  of,   300-301. 
Concord,   139-144. 

Congregational      Church,      compared 
with  other  churches, 
152,   153. 
Club,    151,   338. 
Confucianism,   284,   298  . 
Conscience,  240. 
Constantinople,   359-360. 
Cook,    Joseph,    135,    261,    274,    318, 

31S. 
Cooke,  Jay,  87. 
Coptic   patriarch,   361,  363. 
Coptic   university,   361. 
Cornell,   Gov.,   319. 
Cornell  University,  249,  410. 
Coronado  Beach,  289,  290,  292. 
Country  lif^,   194-198. 

"        sounds,    194. 
Cowles,  E.    P.,  20. 
Cows,  worship  of,  368. 
Cox,   Father,   309-310. 

"     Jacob   D.,    401,   422-484. 
"     S.   H.,  43,  45. 
Coxe,   Bishop,   276. 
Creed,  a  new,  173-178. 
Crerar,  John,   199. 

library,   239. 
Cromer,   Lord,  363. 
Crosby,  Dr.,  43. 
Culver,   Miss.,   338. 
Currier,  A.  H.,  Prof.,  424-426. 
Cuyler,   Dr.,   32,   204. 
Cyprus,   120. 

Dagnan-Bouveret,  351. 
Dairyman's  Daughter,  182. 
Damascus.  119-120,  266,   283,  321. 


INDEX 


441 


Daniels,   Joseph    S.,    21,   25,   78,   81, 

83-86,  87,  419. 
Darjeeling,  375,  387. 
Davis,  Col.,   394. 
Day,    George   E.,   34,  38. 

"      Judge   and   Mrs.,   421-422. 
Delhi,   266,   376. 
Democracy,  247,   409. 

faith  in,  71-72. 
Denominations    like    parts   in   music, 

152-153. 
Denver,   University  of,   418. 
Depew,    Chauncey    M.,    285. 
Desjardins,  Arthur,  350. 
Detroit,   First  Cong.   Church  of,  128. 
Devil's  Punch  Bowl,   180. 
Dewey  School,   239. 
Dharmapala,  H.,   278,  284,  295,  296, 

352. 
Dial,    239. 

Dickens,  39,  69,  95,  168,   189,  348. 
Dickinson,  Miss,  37. 
Dickerman,  G.   S.,  33. 
Dighton,   13. 
Dingley,   Gov.,   134. 
Dionysios  Latas,   274. 
Dix,   Morgan,   276. 
Doctor   of   Divinity,   249. 
Dodge,  Wm.  E.,   45,  150,  299. 
Dolliver,  J.   B.,   416. 
Douglass,   Frederick,   24,  25. 
Drummond,  Henry,  286,   402. 
Drury  College,  398. 
Dudlean  lecture,  390. 
Duff   College,    305,   311-312. 
Dwight,   Timothy,  34,  38,  63,  175. 

Earl   lectures,    428. 
Eaton,  Amos,   13,  14. 

John,   91-93. 
East   Boston,  138-148. 
L'Ecole  des  Beaux   Arts,   92. 
Eddy,    Clarence,    165,   352. 
Education,   402,  409-410. 
Egypt,   108-112,  360-363,  365. 
Eliot  Cong.  Church,  130,  182. 

"      George,    39,    62,    188. 

"      Pres.,   395-397. 
Emerson,  27,  185,  245,  269,  321,  410. 
visit  to,   139-141. 


Ems,  183. 

England  and   America,   353-354. 

English   Church,    232,    256,    313. 

"         elections,   181. 
Ensign,   F.   G.,  163. 
Estabrook,    Prof.,   15. 
Evening  Preaching  Services,   166. 

Fairbairn,   Principal,    315,   357. 

Fairchild,  James  H.,  32,  415-416,  435. 

Fairman,  James,  135. 

Fairmount  College,   18. 

Faith,  shipwreck  of,  216-217. 

Fallows,   Samuel,   336. 

Farrar,  181,  358,  359. 

Favre,  Jules,  98. 

Feehan,  Archbishop,  309. 

Field,  Eugene,  332. 

"      Marshall,    153. 
Figures  of  Speech,   227-228. 
Finney,  Charles  G.,  11,  14,  32,  401, 

422. 
Fisher,  George  P.,   35,  37,  264,  269, 

429. 
First    Presbyterian    Church    of    Chi- 
cago,  call   to   144,   145. 
history,   membership,   and  spirit, 

153-156. 
resignation   from,  333-334. 
farewell  to,  341. 
Florence  Flower  Show,  121-122. 
Fontanes,  E.,  350,  352. 
Fort  Dearborn,    154. 

"     Worth,    192. 
Franklin,    Ohio,    15. 
Freemantle,   Dean,  327. 
Free    Religious    Association    of    Bos- 
ton, 253. 
French  Academy,   351. 

"         Assembly,    98. 

"        ignorance    of,    419. 

"        law    courts,    96. 

"         oration,  347. 

"        politeness,    345,    S49. 
French,    Mr.,    394. 
Frost,  Albinus,  395,  39«. 
Frye,   Senator,   419. 
Funerals,    169-171. 

Gage,  Lyman,  336. 
Gandhi,  281. 


444 


IMDEX 


Kansas  education,   67. 

"         population,    69-71. 

"  University,    249. 

"  women,  397. 

Kayasth    Society,   273. 
Keane,  John  J.,  259,  274. 
Kent,  Aratus,  154. 

"       theater,   358,   389. 
Kenwood   Presbyterian  Church,   390. 
Keshub  Chunder  Sen,  374,  383. 
Kidd's    "Social    Evolution,"    307. 
Killarney,  180. 
Kimball,  Edward,  144. 
King,   Henry  C,  417,  430. 
Kioto,  296,  384. 
Kipling,  Rudyard,  265. 
Kiretchjian,  276. 
Klein,  Abbe,  350. 
Knox   College,   249. 
Kobe,  384. 
"Kubla  Khan,"  381. 
Kwai,  Mr.,  285. 

Labor    and   Capital,   243. 

Laestrogonian  savages,   108. 

Lake  Forest,  199,  249. 

Lamanda  Park,  291-294. 

Lamb,  Charles,  180. 

Lambert,   Father,  158. 

Larnaca,    120. 

"Lost  Supper,"  by  Dagnan-Bouveret, 

351. 
Latas,  Dionysios,  274. 
Latin,  pronunciation  of,   307. 
Lauterbrunnen,    327. 
Law  and  Order  League,  240,  248. 
Lawrence,  Kansas,    57,    59. 

Mass.,  130,  133. 
Lemon   and   Soda   Society,   417,   430. 
Lenawee  Co.,  15. 
Leroy-Beaulieu  344,  349,  350. 
Lewis  Institute,  239. 
Liberty   "canned,"    421. 
Lidden,  Canon,  269. 
Lily  Cottage,  374. 
Lincoln,  Abraham,  73,  138,  140,  224, 

330,  401,   423-424,  425. 
Lindsay,  Thomas  M.,   326. 
Livingstone,  David,  392. 
"Loafer,"   371. 


Logan  statue,  395. 
Loire  country,  352. 
London,   180-181. 

"  preachers,  123-125. 

Lord's  supper,  invitation  to,  13. 
Los  Angeles,   292,  293. 
Louvre,   95. 
Lowell,   139,  143,  2C9,  325. 

"     in  Chicago,  191. 

"     and  Hough,  122. 

"  and  Thoreau,  141. 
Lowell's  "Agassiz,  141. 
Lowell's      "Commemoration      Ode," 

141. 
Luce,   Alice   H.,   416,   426. 
Luther,  188,  339. 

Lunn,  Henry  S.,  325,  326,  327,   328. 
Luxor,  110-111. 
Lyndon  "Signal,"  59. 

MacDonald,  K.  S.,  304. 

Mackinac  Island,  264,  270,  296,  297, 

415. 
Madras,   302,   367,  388. 

Hindu,  304. 
Madura,  380. 
Maharajah   Bahadur,    373. 

"  of  Indore,  377. 

Maharani  of  Kuch  Behar,  374. 
Malta,  108. 
Manning,  Cardinal,   233. 

"  Sarah,   13. 

Manchester  College,  357-358. 
Marais  des  Cygnes,  54,  56,  69. 
Marathon,  140. 
Marmora,   Sea  of,  359. 
Married   people,    beautiful    habit    of, 

216. 
Marriage   services,   167-169. 
Mather,  Cotton,  294. 
Matthews,  Shailer,  335,  394. 
Maverick  Cong.   Church,  138,  144. 
Meaux,  Vicomte  de,  345. 
Medina,  15,   16,  17,  56,   62. 

"         Union  Seminary  16. 
Memphis,  109,  388. 
Mer  de  Glace  adventure,  82-86. 
Methodists,   152-153. 
McCall,   Rev.  Mr.,  94. 

"  mission,    16*. 


INDEX 


445 


McQelland,   Mrs.,  394. 
McCosh,   James,    45,    150. 
McCormick,  Cyrus  H.,  150. 

"  Theological      Seminary, 

239. 
McDowell,    Chancellor,    418. 
McLean,  J.  K.,  416. 
McNair,  Mr.,  386. 
McPherson,   Simon  J.,   198-200,  335, 

336. 
Michigan  high  schools,  66. 
"  University,   410. 

Milan  cathedral,  99-100,  215. 
Mildmay  Conference,  180-181. 
Mill,  J.  S.,  128,  269. 
Miller,   Hugh,  57,  71-72. 

William,  304. 
Mills,   Charles   S.,   431. 
Milwaukee   College,    420. 
Miracles,   220,  227. 
Missionary,     "a    ten    thousand    dol- 
lar,"  286. 
Missionaries,  259,   262. 

training  of,  392. 
Mission  work  in  New  York,  53. 
Missions,    298. 

checks  to  progress  of,   264. 
opinions  about,  390-393. 
Mitchell,   Arthur,   155. 
Mohammed  the  sheikh,  115-116. 
Mohammedan   University,    361. 
Mole,  S.  E.,  79,  87,  94,  145. 
Moody,  45,   46,  47,   48,   163. 
Moore,  Catherine,   14. 
Momerie,   Alfred  W.,   277,   278,   290. 
Montalembert,  Count,  345. 
Morison,  Principal,  371. 
Morrison,  N.  J.,  18,  22,  30,  41. 
Morse  lectures,  390,  393. 
Moses,  Michael  Angelo's,  105. 
Morton,  Chas.  M.,  155. 
Moslem  scholars,   258. 
Mount  Cenis   Tunnel,    100. 

of    Olives,    117-118,    388. 

Pisgah,    113. 

Wilson,  292,  293. 
Mozoomdar,  P.  C,  277,  283,  302    355. 

356,    371,    373,    374. 
>Iuller,    Max,   274,   325-326,   357-358. 


Mule,  the  simple,   409. 

"       path,    116. 
Mulligan.  Mr.,  336. 
Munchausen  story,   65. 
Munger,   Theodore  T.,  130. 
Municipal  reform,  sermons  on,  224. 
Murphy,   Francis,   132,    338. 
"Musings  in  my  library,"  329. 

Nagarkar,  276. 

Napoleon,  57,  58,  89,  109. 

Ill,    89. 
Native  Christians,  378,  390. 
Nazareth,    118-119. 
Newberry    Library   239,    394. 
Newell,  Jr.,  W.  W.,  163. 
Newburyport,    331-332. 
New   England,   223. 

famous  men  of,  139. 

hills,    289,    296. 

homes,  17. 
New  Haven,  32,  35,  36,   37,   38,   39, 

68,  73,  429. 
Newman,  John  Henry,  279,  434. 
New  Orleans,  329. 
New  York,   life  in,  39-53. 
Nile,   110. 
Nirvana,   263. 
Noah's  Ark,  211. 
Noble,  F.  P.,  287. 
Noph  and  On,  109. 
Norham  Gardens,  325. 
Normal    Schools,   93. 
Northampton,  292. 
Norton,  C.  E-,  397. 
Nouri,    Prince,    361-362. 

Oberlin,  14,  15,  20,  32,  36,  314,  338. 
alumni  reunion,   416. 
appeal   of,    402-405. 
call  to,  400. 
colors,    418. 
dangers,   406. 
early  days  at,  11,  12. 
emphases,  406. 
extravagances,  35. 
football  team,  410. 
founders    of,    403-404. 
ideals,  403-404,  406-410,  432. 
the  new,   410. 


446 


INDEX 


Oberlin  progress,  410-411. 

service  to  America  of,  400-401. 

Sphinx,  427. 

students,   action   of,   429,   431. 

Theological   Seminary,    408. 

work    for,   410-413. 
Oberlin,    John    Frederick,    392,    411, 

428. 
O'Connell,   Monsignor,    308-309. 
Ogdensburg,   23. 
Oklahoma,  192. 
Olcott,  Col.,  366. 

Olivet,  18,  19,  22,  23,  25,  26,  30,  32, 
36,  37,  41,  56,  57,  73,  249,  419. 
Onahan,  W.  J.,  295. 
Onondaga  Academy,   14. 
Optimism,  413. 
Oratoire,   346. 
Ordination,  131. 
"Oriental  Christ,"   The,  283. 
"  courtesy,   364. 

faiths,   340. 
Osage  Co.,  54,  66,  69,  70,  71. 
Osaka,  384. 
Otis,   Philo  A.,  154. 
Our   Day,   261. 
"Outlook,"   337. 
Oxford,  313,   325,  326,  388. 

day  in   358. 

students,  274. 

Pacific  Theological   Seminary,  428. 
Page,  Thomas  N.,  261. 
Page's  Portrait  of  Tilton,   52. 
Palais  Royale,  love  feast  at,  350. 
Palamcottah,  380. 
Palermo,  108. 

Palestine,  112-119,  275,  365. 
Palmer,  Mrs.  Potter,  316,  336,  350. 

Prof,  and  Mrs.,  396. 
Pan  American  Exposition,  410. 
Pantheon,  102. 
Pantheism,    21S. 
Parthenon,  140,  387. 
Paradise   Lost,  29,  203. 
Paris,  266,   344,   352-353,  364. 

Archbishop    of,    317. 

Conference,    421. 

life  in,   86-99,   344-352. 

Peace    Commission,    419. 


Paris,  University  of,  329,  344. 
Parisian   happiness,   90. 
Park,  Prof.,  128. 
Park's   "Discourses,"   198. 
Parker,  Joseph,    181. 

"        Theodore,    122. 
Park  Street  Church,  128,  130. 
Parkhurst,   Dr.,   264. 
Parkman,   Francis,    27. 
Parliament  of  Religions,  address  on, 
327. 

addresses  at,  276-280. 

aims   of,  255. 

article  on,  262. 

book   on,   by   Bonet-Maury,   330. 

cranks  at,   281-282. 

caricature   of,    282. 

effect  on  missions,  263-266. 

emphases  of,  275. 

friendships  of,  279-281. 

history     of,     presented     to     the 
Pope,   308-309. 

reviewed,   297-298. 

hopes    for   the,    262-266. 

inner  history  of,  281-286. 

of  Paris,  316. 

opening   of,    273. 

opinions  about   the,   254,   276. 

organizer   of,    256. 

Max  Miiller  on,  326. 

monument  to,  305. 

oriental  impressions  of,  280-281. 

representation   at,    273. 

results   of,    298-299. 

spirit  of,   273,  274,   303. 
Parsis,  258,  364. 

Partisanship  in  city  politics,  245. 
Pasadena,    292-293. 
Passy,  Frederic,  346. 
Pastoral  experiences,   167-171. 
Patience,    413-414. 
Patriotism,    246-247. 
Patterson,  Dr.,  296. 
Pattison,   Mark,   187. 
P'atton,  Francis  L.,  155,  172,  173. 
Paul,     56,    93,    105,    120,    148,    205, 

262. 
Peace  Cottage,  373. 
Pearsons,   D.    K.,   153. 
Pentecost,  G.   F.,   357. 


INDEX 


447 


Peabody,  F.  G.,  269,  396. 
Peradenija  Gardens,  384. 
Perdue,  249. 
Perrysburg,   15. 
Persian  Worship,  368. 
Pessimism,  391,  413. 
Phelps,   Prof.,   128,   151,  175. 
Phi   Alpha   Phi   Society,    24. 
Philadelphia,    427. 

Phillips,  Wendell,  20,  22,  24,  25,  26 
49,  67,  71,  397. 
impressions  of,  135-138. 
Pierson,  Dr.,   310. 
Plumb,  A.   H.,   139. 
Plymoufh,  13. 

Church,    40,    46,   48,    123, 
133. 
Politics,   minister    in,    239-244. 
Pope,    The,     308-309,    316-317 
Porter,  Jeremiah,  154-155. 
Prof.,   33,  34,   134. 
"         Rhetorical   Society,  128. 
Preaching  Christ,  206-216. 

Joy  of,  205-206. 
Presbyterian  Board  of  Foreign  Mis- 
sions, 199,   390. 
Hospital,  239. 
Seminary,    152. 
Social   Union   239,   261. 
Presbyterians  and  Congregationalists, 

149. 
Prohibition  in  Iowa,   352. 
Puaux,   Frank,   350. 
Pung  Quang  Yu,   284-286. 
Puritan,   11. 
Pusey  House,  318. 

Quadrangle    Club,    335. 

Quantrell,   56. 

Quebec,   192. 

Queen's  Privy  Council,  358. 

Quo  Vadis,  395. 

Rabbis   of   Israel,   273. 
Railroad  Chapel,  155,  166. 
Raphael's  grave,  103. 
"  ideals,   185. 

Ravaisson-Molieu,   351. 
Raymond,  Prof.,  139. 
Reay,   Lord,  346, 


Record,  the  Chicago,  337,  343. 

Redlands,  293. 

Reed,   Tom,    421. 

Reform,  dangers  of,  251. 

Reinach,  347,  350. 

Rembrandt,  181-185,  186,  354,  420. 

Renan,   210. 

Rensselaer  Polytechnic  Institute,   13. 

Religion   and  the  beautiful   360. 
and  the  intellect,   410. 
greatness  of,  301. 

Republican   Convention,  24C. 

Revell,  Fleming  H.,  205. 

Review  of  Reviews,  260. 
Reville,  Albert,  347,  350. 
Revival   meetings,   163. 
Revue  de  Belgique,  262. 

"        Chretienne,    35. 
Reynolds,  Sir  Joshua,  280. 
Richey,    Prof.,    276. 
Richmond,   Leigh,   182. 
Rig  Vedas,   346. 
Ritschl,  335. 
Riverside,   290. 
Robert    College,   359. 
Roberti,  J.  C,  380. 
Robertson,  Frederick  W.,  28,  146. 
Robinson,  Edward,  150. 
Rockefeller,  John  D.,  332,  338. 
Rockford,    249,   420. 

College,  420. 
Rocky  Mountain   News,  399. 
Rome,    56. 

life   in,    102-107. 
Roman  streets,  103. 
Ropes,   John    R.,   416. 
Rousseau's  Isle,  80. 
Rubinstein,  108. 
Ryder,  C.  J.,  426. 

Sabattier,  Auguste,  329-347. 
Sac  amd  Fox  Reserve,  70-71. 
Sacred  and  Secular,  266. 
Sadowa,  216. 
Sage  College,   318. 

"      H.  W.,   319. 
Saint  Ambrose,   207. 

"      Anns,  N.  Y.,  15. 

"      Gaudens,  239,  394. 

"      Giles'   Church,   27,  120. 


448 


INDEX 


Saint  Louis  Exposition,  428. 
"      Louis    Presbyterian,    159. 
"      Mark's    Piazza,    101-102. 
"      Mary's    Church,    103. 
"      Peter's,  102,  106-107. 
"      Peter  in   Vinculis,   105. 
"      Stephen's    gate,    116. 
Salon,  Champs  Elysees,  351. 

Champs  de  Mars,  351. 
Salvation  Army,  232,  310-311. 
Sampson,  Dominie,  26. 
San  Bernardino  Valley,  293,  294. 
Sanborn,    Kate,    292. 
San  Gabriel   Valley,  292. 
Say,   Leon,   346. 
Scepticism,    root    of,    218. 
Schaff,  Philip,  39,  87,  175-  269,  276 
334. 
Dr.,   334. 
Scheideck,  328. 
Schickler,  Baron,  345. 
Schreenivassa,  380. 
Schultz,   Prof.,   343. 
Schurman,  J.  G.,  319,  416. 
Schuyler,  Mr.,  90,  91. 
Schwalbach,  183. 
Scott,  296. 
Scutari,  360. 
Second    Presbyterian    Church,     155, 

198,    335,    337. 
Selim  Pasha,  361,  362. 
Semi-Centennial   of    the    First    Pres- 
byterian Church,   154-156. 
Sen,  Keschub  Chunder,  374,   383. 
Sermon  at  Arvonia,  58-59. 
"        first,  57. 

subjects,  157,  226. 
Sermons  adapted  to  audience,  213. 
"        in  pamphlet  form,  204. 
"        length    of,   225. 
"         method  in,  231. 
"         preparation  of,  224. 
"        structure,  226. 
"Seven   Pines,"   270. 
Shadows,   231-232. 
Shakespeare,    17,    61,    182,    186-191, 

249,  261,  269,   414,   431. 
Shansi  Martyrs,   416. 
Shedd,  W.  G.  T.,  39,  40. 
Shibata,    384-385. 


Shintoism,  258,  384. 
Shipherd,  Rev.  Fayette,  11. 
Shoobra  Gardens,  109. 

Road,   110. 
Shurtleff,  G.  W.,  422. 
Sicily,  68,  108. 

Siddartha,    Prince    321.      (See    Gau- 
tama Buddha.) 
Sierra  Madre,  293. 
Simon,  Jules,   98,   345,   346-347,    353. 
Sin,  pervasiveness  of,  210-213. 
Singapore,  384. 
Siva,  367. 

Skinner,  Thorn.  H.,  39. 
Slater,  Adolf,  39. 
Small,  John,  379. 
Smalley,  49-50. 
Smiley  Hill,  293. 
Mr.,  294. 
Smith,  Albert,  73. 

College  Girls,  399. 
"       Goldwin,  171. 

Henry  B.,  39,  150,  269. 
John,   Prof.,  290. 
"       Judson,  431. 

May  Riley,  73,  94. 
"  "  impressions  of  J. 

H.    Barrows,  74- 
78. 
"  "  letters     to,     128- 

127. 
Socialistic  schemes,  242. 
Somerset,   Lady  Henry,  312. 
Sophronius,  361. 
Sorbonne,  banquet  at,  345. 
S.   P.  Q.  R.,  103-104. 
Springfield,    111.,    73,    74,    101,    140, 

145. 
Spurgeon,  123,  181. 
Stanford,  Cal.,  428. 
Stanley,  Dean,  93,  111,  124-125,  279, 
307,     313,    325,    352,    358-359. 
Stanton,  death  of,  59. 
Stead,  F.  Herbert,  313,  314. 

"      Wm.  T.,  353. 
Stebbins,   Mr.  and  Mrs.,  88-89. 
Stillman,  140. 
Stone,  Mr.,  342. 
Storrs,   H.   W.,   57,   134. 

R.  H.,  50,  158,  181. 


INDEX 


449 


Stowe,  H.  B.,  188. 

Sultan  of  Turkey,  256. 

Sumner,    Charles,    90,    93,    120-121, 

139. 
Sunday    School   Union,   199. 
Superstitions,  268. 
Swift,  G.  B.,  314. 
Swing,  David,  156,  169-171. 

"  "       banquet  to,   161. 

Swing's,  David,  funeral  sermon,  305- 

307. 
Syracuse,    108. 

Taft,   Lorado,   332,   336. 
Taine,  92,  95. 
Taj   Mahal,  386,  390. 
Taliessin,    59. 
Tarpeian  Rock,  103. 
Taylor,  Mrs.   97. 

\Vm.  M.,  181. 
Tasso's    "Jerusalem    Delivered,"    76. 
Tcherez,  Minas,   276. 
Temperance  work,   132. 
Temple  Hill  School,  14. 
Tenney,  Henry  M.,  430. 
Tennyson,  39,  253,  269,  270,  426. 
Tennyson's   Ulysses,   435. 
Tenth   anniversary   sermon,   178. 
Texas,  193. 

Thanksgiving  sermon,  238. 
Thames,  on  the,  126. 
Thatcher,   Prof.,   37. 
Thayer,    Prof.,    396. 
Thebes,   110. 
Thief  caste,  380. 
Thomas  orchestra,  239. 
Thoreau,   141,   143. 
Thwing,   Charles  F.,  139. 
Tilton,    Theodore,   24,   52,   133,    422- 

423. 
"Times,"   The,   of  India,  312. 
Tokyo,   254,   258,  384,  388. 
Tolman,  Prof.,   397. 
Tomary,    Alexander,    305,    311,    312. 
Tomlins,  \Vm.  L.,  158. 
Topeka,   57. 

"         Commonwealth,    The,    59. 
Touraine,   Hotel,   425. 
Towne,   Prof.,   287. 


Tragedy,  234. 

Travel,  pictures  of,  387-388. 

Tropic  vegetation,  383-384. 

Twain,  Mark,   420. 

"Two  Miles  of  Country  Road,"  194- 

198. 
Tucker,   \V.  J.,   139. 
Turgeneff,    meeting    with,    90-91. 
Turkey,    Sultan    of,    256. 

Ulysses,   435. 
Union  League   Club,  261. 
Park    Church,    316. 
"       Theological     Seminary,     39, 
390,   396. 
Unitarian     Foundation     in     Oxford, 

357. 
Unitarianism,   149. 
Unitarians    and    Universalists,    49. 
U.    S.    Government    Building,    267. 
Utah,  134,   281. 

Van   Rensselaer,   Stephen,  13. 
Varnishing   Day,   351. 
Vatican,  104,  105. 
Venice,  67,  101-102. 
Versailles,  96,  98. 
Vesuvius,  132,   229. 
Victor  Emmanuel,  121-122. 
Victoria    Station,   358. 
Vienna,    Congress  of,   192. 

"         Exposition,    82. 
Vincent,   Bishop,    227. 

"  George  E.,  416. 

Vishnu,    353,    367,    420. 
Vivekananda,   396. 
Voltaire,   27,  96,   421. 
Votaw,  Prof.,   287. 

Wade,   Ben,  423,  424. 
Wager,   C.  H.  A.,  434-43S, 
Wagner,  Charles  347,  350. 
Waite,  Mr.,  103. 
Walbridge,    Elizabeth,    182. 
Waring,   Col.,  87. 
Warner,  C.  D.,  238,  290. 

Lucien  C,  411,  430. 
Warren,  W.   F.,  253. 
Washburn,  Dr.  and  Mrs.,  359. 
Washbume,  Mr.,  98. 


450 


INDEX 


Wasson,   Dr.,   90. 

Webb,  Mohammed,   294. 

Wellesley,  249,  294. 

Wellhausen,  Prof.,   343. 

Wells,   Ralph,   43. 

Wesley's  tomb,  125. 

Westfield  Normal   School,   79. 

West  Lake,   194. 

Westminster  Abbey,  124,  314,  392. 

Confession,      12,      149, 
171-178,   429. 
West  Unity,   O.,  16,  17,   62. 
Westwood   Cemetery,   430. 
White,  Andrew  D.,  270. 
Whitney,  W.   D.,  36. 
Whittier,   54,  270,  306,   307. 
Willard,  Emma,  13. 

"         Frances,  308,  395. 
Williams  Colege,  18,  249. 
Williams,   E.   F.,  395. 
Williamstown,   79,  292. 
Winfield,  Kan.,  397-398. 


Wilkinson,  Prof.,  262. 
Wilson,   Archdeacon,   326-327. 

"         Marcius,    14. 
Winthrop,   Robert  C,  189. 
Withrow,  J.  L.,  139. 
Wolkousky,   Prince,   278. 
Woodbury,  Frank   P.,   22,   420. 
Woodstock,  15,  16. 
VV'ooley,  Mary  E.,  416. 
"World   as   the   Subject   of  Redemp- 
tion," 327. 
"World  Pilgrimage,"  A,  393. 
World's    Congress    Auxiliary,    253. 
Fair,    225,   253,   266,    267. 
Wordsworth,   54,   94,   261. 
Worms,   Diet  of,   339. 


Yale,    32,    33,    34,    36,    39, 

285,    410. 
Yokohama,    384. 

Zante,  Archbishop  of,  284. 


3,    264, 


DATE  DUE 

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V 

■mnismimm 

'  • 

JAN  3i 

)    W: 

GAYLORD 

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